Free And Clear
by I'm Twitch
Summary: Michael, Sara, Lincoln, Veronica, and LJ adjust to a life of freedom, something that they'll never take for granted again. Set after Lincoln's exoneration and Michael's nowprobation judgement, this is the sequel to Room To Breathe.
1. Fresh Start

**Author's Note: **Well, here it is, chapter one of the sequel. I tried out a different format for this one, being in first person, hoping to be able to get into the character's personalities easier, let me know how it's working.

**Disclaimer: **I do not, nor will I ever, own any of these characters. _Prison Break _and all related elements, characters, and indicia are copyright Paul Scheuring, 20th Century Fox Television, Adelstein-Parouse Productions, and Original Television.

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The day had faded into another humid night in Panama, the seven of us back on the porch, enjoying everything about freedom that we used to take for granted.

"This place is great, Uncle Mike, how'd you find it?"

"I designed it a while back."

"By yourself?"

"More or less."

LJ's been asking questions since we met him in Chicago, mostly to me and Lincoln. I could've swore that kids his age should be too busy lounging around, too carefree to bombard people with questions, but I guess LJ's an exception.

"Are we really gonna open a surf shop?" His intuitive excitement could warm even the coldest heart.

"I think we need to learn to surf first, don't you think?"

He seemed to ponder the question like it had never crossed his mind. "Yeah, I guess we should. How about now?"

"Tomorrow, LJ. I think your dad's too drunk to stand up, much less learn to surf."

"That's not true, Uncle Mike, dad's fine, aren't ya, dad?"

"Huh? Oh…yeah. I'm great."

"Do you know what he's talking about, Linc?"

"Not a clue. You need to go get some sleep, kid. We're gonna spend tomorrow on the beach."

"Yeah, like I wanted to stay out here with a buncha stiffs like you," he laughed. "Goodnight, everyone."

I watched LJ disappear into the house before letting myself drift back into thought. I had to leave tomorrow morning, be back in the states and serve my probation. I figured since I wasn't on the run anymore, I could find some little beach town in Florida and settle down with Sara, if she made the choice to leave Fox River behind. I had talked to her alone earlier, and she said she was almost one hundred percent sure, but I had told her to sleep on it. She still wanted to go to rehab meetings, though, wanted to make sure she didn't have another lapse.

Sitting there in Panama with the four people I love in this world, along with two friends, I can't help but think how lucky I am. The moon's high in the sky now, and the light of it dances off of the rippling ocean, making the sight, Sara included, look more beautiful than ever. Her long auburn hair is framed around her face by the wind, her eyes squinted just slightly, looking like she's deep in thought, just like everyone else. There's a glimmer in the hazel of her eyes, making her face sparkle just as much as the ocean, and it's constricting my chest. No matter what she says she wants, just me and a family, I know she wants to be supported more than emotionally. She'll want stability, if not now, then sometime in the future, and it's not something I'm positive I can give her. Structural engineering was my life, it was the job that I loved, and I couldn't do it anymore, not legally at least. The felony charge had made sure of that. No matter how much the old firm wanted me back, they knew that people talked, and my employment would lead to bigger problems. If only there was a way that I could give Sara a financially secure future. Sure, we have a good bit of Westmoreland's money, and for that I'm thankful, but it won't last forever, I know this, especially with the family we plan on starting. I know Sara's too strong of a person to complain, and too stubborn to leave even if she realizes that I can't give her all she needs, it's what makes it so hard. I have to excel beyond anyone's expectations, just to make sure she's taken care of, to make sure there's no possible way I can fail her.

"Mike, can I talk to you for a minute?" Lincoln's voice thrust me back into reality, a place where everyone was staring at me like my growing hair was on fire.

"Uh, yeah." I stood up and followed him down the steps to the white sand of the beach, aching to feel it on my feet, but too self conscious to go barefoot. John Abruzzi had royally screwed me out of my toes, and while I didn't mind when I was a fugitive, it was different now. I was a free man, and I couldn't enjoy the soft sand of the beautiful beach because of my eight toes. I've been telling myself to get over it, throw on a pair of sandals, and just go with it. It didn't look like it was happening any time soon.

"You have to go back to the States, don't you? I mean…they're not letting you serve your probation in some Middle American country, are they?"

"Yes, I'm going back. They're not going to know anything about Panama, not while Sucre's still here. I'm moving to Florida, get some little beach house in an unknown town, some place where I can start over."

I watched my brother rub the stubble on his chin and give a slight nod. "Sara going, too?"

I looked over my shoulder and saw her sitting there talking with Veronica and Maricruz about God knows what. "I hope so." I had to pry my eyes away from her before I ran back up the steps and claimed her as mine all over again. "Why do you ask?"

"No reason. It's just, I was talking to Veronica earlier, and we agreed it might be good if LJ was somewhere near his uncle, with everything that's happened. Ya know, Veronica thinks he might lose sleep, worrying about you, not knowing if you're okay."

It was my turn to nod. "So what are you thinking?"

"I dunno. Maybe the three of us could move up to Florida with you, somewhere close by."

"You mean next door, don't you, Linc?" He broke out into an intoxicated grin.

"Yeah."

"Well, it's really up to you and Veronica. If you want to, be my guest. I'm sure it wouldn't be too hard to find a couple of nice little houses next to each other."

"You're paying for both, right?"

I let out a sarcastic laugh that must've been heard on the porch. "Yeah, right, Linc. I think you've had a little TOO much to drink tonight, it's got you hallucinating."

"Can't blame a guy for tryin'."

I laughed and nudged him in the shoulder, and he ended up toppling over into the sand. If he wasn't wasted, that fall would've been less than comforting, but he just laid there and stared at me with fake puppy dog eyes like I'd done some horrible thing.

"Veronica's gonna kill you if you fill the bed with sand, tonight." I extended my hand and barely managed to pull him up, almost falling on him.

"Maybe she'll get violent," he said with a wink, heading back up the stairs. I stared at him, amazed at how he could fall over at the slightest nudge, but be able to stand up and walk the uneven stairs in a straight line.

"That's it," I muttered to myself. "The stairs are uneven, therefore matching him stumble for stumble." I shook my head and trudged after him, the sand crunching against the wooden steps under my shoes. I watched each step before I took it, as if I was warning it I was going to step on it, urging it to take cover. God, I need to stop drinking, I'm talking to stairs here.

"Yes." I jerked my head up and grabbed the rail for balance, caught off guard by Sara's comment.

"Huh?" I was shaking my head, trying to clear the cobwebs, thinking I'd missed something.

"I'll go." I had about a million things to say, and they all tried to come out at once, instead getting caught in a jumbled mess in my throat. Sara must've noticed how aggravated I was getting at my lack of verbal skills because she came over and laced her arm around my waist, tilting her head up and to the side to kiss me. Every kiss tasted better than the last, and I knew it was something that would always happen that way. I'd managed to get my hand to the back of her head, my fingers running through her hair and dancing on the nape of her neck, something she'd told me drove her crazy. I smiled in the kiss just thinking about it, I'd tease at her for a bit until she was about ready to lose her inhibitions, then I'd stop, just like that. Having freedom enabled me to actually get to know Sara instead of just constant planning, and it was nice to have a conversation without a thousand other thoughts racing in my head. It seemed like throughout the few hours we'd been back in Panama, everyone had gotten to know everyone else a lot better and it felt nice because for the first time, it seemed like everyone around was on the same wave length. She broke the kiss and pulled back, her eyes fixed on mine.

"I'm glad. Who knows, maybe there's even a prison you can work at." It was meant to be more of a joke, but apparently it came out wrong.

"Who said I wanted to work at a prison, much less even stay a doctor?"

Now she had me baffled. "What would you do, then?"

"A housewife doesn't sound like such a bad job." Just hearing her say "wife" was enough to make me smile.

"I'd like that." She accepted my response and laid her head on my chest with a yawn, she was obviously exhausted from all the excitement that happened today. I kissed the top of her head, her hair feeling like the finest silk against my lips. "Why don't you go to bed? I'll be there in a few minutes." She yawned again and pulled back, studying me for a moment before kissing me goodnight.

"Goodnight."

"Night."

I took my seat at the table and picked up my beer, taking a long drink. It was down to four of us now, but I was almost positive everyone would be asleep in no time.

"So, Michael…Florida, huh?"

"That's right."

Sucre smiled at me, but I could see something else behind his eyes.

"Don't worry, Sucre. You and Maricruz can stay here as long as you want. You'll have my number, so you can call if you need anything." That brought the happy-go-lucky Sucre back.

"You're a life saver, papi!

"It seems to be a trend for me now." I stood up and nodded to Sucre, Maricruz, and Veronica after I drained the last of the liquid from my bottle. "Goodnight."

The sleep I got was better than any night in a long time. It was as if it was the first time I was actually able to turn my brain off and really rest. Having Sara's slender, partially sweaty body pressed against me didn't hurt, either. We'd definitely have to buy a few air conditioners in Florida, even though waking up with the sheets sticking to me wasn't all bad. It was kind of refreshing, like I went to sleep and by the time I woke up, I had sweat out all of the negative energy I had.

The morning had been filled with everyone bustling about in a rushed but cheery mood, either cleaning up or packing things. Veronica had asked me to help Lincoln talk to LJ about leaving Panama, and it went a hell of a lot better than I thought it would. As it turns out, he just wants to be somewhere sunny where the girls wear skimpy bathing suits, and his explanation brought a huge smile to his father's face.

"Like father, like son," I had thought with a smile.

"Are we gonna live with you, Uncle Mike? And Doctor Sara?"

"Nope. Next door. We figured it'd be better that way, everyone needs some privacy sometimes." As usual, LJ seemed to genuinely understand. He had really matured recently, but his now hard exterior brought a sinking feeling to my stomach now. It was like he was forcing himself to only show positive emotions, keeping all the bad things bottled up inside, and I knew firsthand that it wasn't a good habit to pick up on.

Veronica had apparently been online already and found two houses next to each other that she swore would be perfect. Turns out, she was right. The architecture was stunning, it mixed modern design with gothic style, and we could pay cash and move in right then. The price was nearly dirt cheap, too, being right in the center of where a good amount of hurricane activity takes place, some town called New Smyrna Beach. I didn't mind, I could tell by looking at pictures of the houses that they could withstand anything a hurricane could throw at it, and all the thunder would just give Sara more of a reason to cuddle up against me, even though we both knew she didn't need a reason. As we were headed out of the house, I joked with Sucre and told him not to knock over any of Panama's liquor stores, told him that they were armed for that kind of thing. He laughed, but it was laced with nervousness, which just made everyone else laugh harder, knowing Maricruz would knock him three ways to Sunday if he did anything like that again.

We took an actual airline to Florida and got a rental car, some late-model Honda, to make our drive in. Lincoln drove and Veronica directed him, the rest of us in the back, once again cramped together. I was starting to get used to it, and that was sad, but humorous at the same time.

"So, Doctor Sara, you got something goin' on with my Uncle Mike over here?" Sara had learned that it was a waste of time to be uncomfortable with LJ's straight-forward questions, seeing as how he'd ask them regardless, but she blushed anyway.

"I'm pretty sure I do. What about you, huh? Any special ladies?"

"Veronica's about as special as they come."

I caught Veronica's eyes in the rearview mirror, and I could see the silent tears at LJ's honest flattery. Sara seemed to be just as touched.

"You're a lucky guy, LJ, having someone as great as Veronica care about like she does."

"I know." His remark was so self-assured that the car erupted in laughter.

"You sure are a compliment killer."

"It's genetic," he said, hitting Lincoln playfully in the arm.

"You're forgetting one thing, kid."

"What's that?"

"I can ground you now."

"Aw, dad." His whiney protest only fuelled everyone's fit of laughter.

Twenty minutes of easy conversation passed, ranging in topics.

"Here's our street, turn here," Veronica instructed. I glanced at the street sign and scoffed. Riverside Drive. How generic. LJ seemed to notice it, too.

"Hey, V, why's it called Riverside if it's beachfront?"

"Because people like you overanalyze everything just like your Uncle Mike."

"Hey now," I said. "This is 'Gang Up On LJ' day, leave me out of it." Everyone laughed as Lincoln pulled the car over on the side of the road.

"You're too used to the city, Linc. We have driveways now." He seemed to be almost ashamed with his mistake, but he laughed it off and said we needed the exercise anyway. LJ made sure he was the first one in his new house, darting from room to room, inspecting every inch of the place, finally meeting up with us in the living room, completely winded.

"This place is HUGE!"

"This place is CHEAP." Lincoln high-fived his son and looked at the vacant house, Veronica standing next to him, admiring the start of their new lives.

We rented a couple of big U-Hauls and somehow managed to get every piece of furniture purchased, delivered, and set up in its respective place by sunset. After Veronica and Sara had picked out everything they would "die if they didn't get" they had headed to the supermarket, stocking up on an array of foods and dishes and assorted household supplies. Everyone had been too tired to drink that night, everyone except Lincoln, that is, and we exchanged goodbyes and goodnights.

I was relaxing comfortably on our new bed listening to the clock radio and I sat up when the song changed to "Back At One" by Brian McKnight. It was the same song that was playing when I asked Sara to dance, and I couldn't wait for her to get out of the bathroom so I could do it again. I must've startled her when she opened the door, because she recoiled slightly until she realized it was me.

"May I have this dance?" I questioned, taking her hand and kissing it.

"Michael…I'm pregnant."


	2. Confusion

**Author's Note: **The reviews so far have been simply PHENOMENAL, I just hope you guys are happy with this chapter, let me know :)

**Disclaimer: **I do not, nor will I ever, own any of these characters. _Prison Break _and all related elements, characters, and indicia are copyright Paul Scheuring, 20th Century Fox Television, Adelstein-Parouse Productions, and Original Television.

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I watched him watch me, his lips still pressed against my hand, his eyes being unreadable.

"Pregnant?" He slowly lowered my hand back to my side.

I took a moment for a couple of much needed deep breaths. "Yes…you know, where someone has a tiny person growing inside of them."

He seemed to realize how oblivious he looked and quickly regained himself. I thought for sure that his next question would be "How?" but it wasn't. "I, uh…whose is it?"

I felt my mouth drop open and I stared at him, almost dumbfounded. "Whose do you think, Michael?" He inhaled sharply and ran his hands over his head, the same thing he did whenever he was stressed or nervous.

"I didn't mean it like that, I'm sorry…How do you feel about it?"

"Can you stop psychoanalyzing everything for a minute and just tell me what you think?" I snapped at him and immediately felt sorry, he didn't deserve it. After all, I just gave him some rather earth shattering news. I watched his hand grab mine and carefully lead me to the bed, urging me to sit next to him.

"I'm glad," he finally said. "We were starting a family anyway, right?" His acceptance rushed relief through my body.

"We were," I said approvingly. "And now we are." He pulled me close to him and all I could do was lay my head on his shoulder, my exhaustion making me sore all over. His skin was warm against my cheek and it felt wonderful, filling me with content at finally having things work out in my favor. Of course, I didn't know how long it would last, the past few months I've spent with Michael had taught me that anything can happen, and it can happen at any time. Veronica was with me when I bought the pregnancy test at the store today, and I couldn't wait to tell her it was positive. I was tempted to run over there now but she was probably sleeping, and I was too tired to move, much less go next door, so I settled for leaning over and laying my head on my pillow, waiting for Michael to snuggle up behind me as he always did. Just as I thought, he shortly slid one arm under me and draped the other one over my waist, his hand rubbing light circles on my stomach. "Michael?"

"Mm?" Apparently he was just as tired as I was, his voice sounding soft and distant.

"I'm scared." I felt him remove his hand and brush my hair to the side, placing a kiss on the back of my neck.

"I know, Sara. It'll be okay…I promise." My heart must've been satisfied with his reply, because my eyelids drooped shut and I was asleep in a heartbeat.

As usual, the morning came too early, the sun probing at my closed eyes, forcing them open. I'd have to go buy some heavier curtains today, a pair that would block out the sun. I rolled over sleepily and draped my arm over Michael's chest, which turned out to be nothing more than a pillow. I sat up and rubbed my eyes, adjusting to the brightness of the room, scanning for Michael. I pulled on a pair of jeans and an olive green tee shirt, the same clothes I wore yesterday, and headed down to the hall, following the faint voices I heard.

"Doctor Sara!" I looked at the clock on the microwave. Seven in the morning.

"LJ, are you not a regular kid? I thought you were supposed to sleep 'til noon."

"Not when dad and Uncle Mike are gonna learn to surf!" He winked at me, obviously believing his father and uncle would have trouble with it, which would only further his amusement.

"You're gonna be out there, too," I said grabbing a coffee mug, getting my morning kiss from Michael. "Ready for it, Michael?"

"I have to be." He smiled his smile that melts my heart every time. "What are you gonna do?"

"I'm sure me and Veronica can sit around and pretend to be homemakers." I was still dying to tell her I was pregnant, but I didn't want to go barge in or something. I'd wait until we were alone and just talking, even though I was sure Michael would tell Lincoln as soon as he got the chance, if he hadn't already. As if on cue, Lincoln came in through the sliding door from the patio, looking completely out of his element in board shorts and sandals.

"Like, surfs up, dudes," he said in a lame surfer imitation, LJ's cheeks turning a fiery red color.

"Let's not do that again, dad, okay?"

Lincoln walked over and tousled his son's hair just to aggravate him. "So Mike, today's the day, huh?"

"What do you mean?"

"You have to stop hiding in closed toe shoes, time to go barefoot, can't surf with sneakers on."

"Watch me." Veronica came up from behind me and we stood there and stared at the three guys, all looking closely identical, except for Michael's sneakers. LJ's impatience was killing him.

"Come on you guys, let's go meet some gnarly surf instructor!"

Michael kissed me as he walked by, and even though it was quick, it was full of passion. "We shall return." I smiled and nodded, watching them leave, talking amongst themselves, LJ's excited voice carrying much louder than the others.

"He's a great kid," I said admiringly, taking a seat at the dining room table.

"He really is, and he's just been through so much lately, things that no kid should have to go through." I nodded my head almost hypnotically, not wanting to think about all of the bad things LJ had experienced recently. "I know it's none of my business, but have you and Michael talked about when you're going to start that family?"

I took of a sip of my coffee and set it down on the table, smiling at Veronica.

"That soon!" Her voice contained more excitement than LJ's.

"I'm pregnant, Veronica." I could feel that I had the biggest, dumbest grin plastered on my face, but I couldn't help it and I didn't care. I was happy.

"Oh my God! How's Michael feel? You DID tell him, didn't you?"

I laughed. "Of course I told him, and he's thrilled."

"Does Lincoln know, yet?"

I glanced out of the open glass door. "Probably. I don't know for sure, though."

"I think he does. LJ's been teasing me the past half hour about some huge secret, but he always shut up whenever his dad came around." I couldn't help but grinning. LJ the eavesdropper. "This calls for a celebration, AFTER we find you a physician. Come on over, my laptop gets a great signal." I stood up and followed her across the back yard, the dewy grass tickling my toes. She spent an hour scouring the internet, finally realizing that a town like this relied on word of mouth, not internet listings. "We need a phone book."

"Would 411 work?"

"I think it's for locations or people in particular. Oh! I can go to the yellow pages online." Once again, she was furiously punching different keys and, after multiple phone calls, we finally chose a Doctor Pearson and made an appointment for this afternoon.

"She seems nice enough," I said thoughtfully, the full effect of being pregnant not having hit me yet.

"Are you and Michael going to go the whole nine yards? A birthing plan and everything?"

"I think so. You know, I've never done this before, I'd rather be safe than sorry."

"I know what you mean. There's just so many things to consider, to decide on, and this is all BEFORE the baby comes. You guys are gonna be swamped." I let out a nervous laugh, hoping to discreetly alert Veronica that she wasn't easing my apprehension very much. She must've noticed, because she quickly added "You two can't even begin to imagine how much joy that baby's gonna bring into your lives. C'mon, let's go shopping before your appointment, we can buy stuff for the baby." From the enthusiasm in her voice, I could tell she really liked being involved, and it was nice to have someone care that much for a change.

"Definitely. Let me leave the boys a note first," I said, raiding the kitchen for a pen and paper, but having to resort to eyeliner and a napkin. "Gone shopping with Veronica, then doctor's office. Be back soon." It was a habit I had, I mumbled the words that I wrote, and apparently Veronica found humor in my poor grammar usage.

"Four years of college to write in fragments?"

"Hey, I went medical, not English," I said with a laugh, following Veronica out of the house to the waiting Honda.

"Here we are," she announced.

"I love being in department stores like this. Even though there's usually crappy music playing, or boring advertisements, it's nice to have a constant in the madness of the shopping. I remember when I was little, before my mother became an addict…" I paused, almost feeling resentment for referring to her as an addict, even though I knew there was no way to sugarcoat her habit. "Anyway, she used to bring me along with her whenever she went to a store like this, and I always kicked off my sandals in the car when she wasn't looking so I could feel the cold tile on my feet. She had a habit of going real early in the morning, though, like two or three, so it just made it extra cold. A normal parent would've scolded me and forced me back in bed, but her addiction was just starting to become serious, so she let me tag along. I was up anyway, though. I spent a lot of nights wide awake, staring at the ceiling of my room, wondering if she was going to be home when I woke up. Even though I was young, I wasn't as stupid as she and my father thought, I knew what she was doing was dangerous, and it used to make me cry myself to sleep when I realized she wasn't going to the store that night. Those trips, when she was actually somewhat sober, they were pretty much the only thing I had to look forward to growing up. It, uh, didn't last too long, though. On my eighth birthday I had tried to bake myself a cake while she was sleeping, and when I went to light the candles, I burnt myself and dropped the match on her 'precious' tablecloth. By the end of that day, she had shipped me off to live with my father, who was a 'normal' parent in terms of being excessively strict and gut wrenchingly unloving." I had to stop myself there, I could feel the tears approaching my eyes. "I'm sorry, Veronica, that turned out a lot longer than it was meant to be. I mean, look at us, we somehow got in the automotive section, standing around the steering wheel covers like we're out of our minds."

"No, don't apologize, Sara. I'm glad you're comfortable enough to talk to me about stuff like that." Her voice was so soothing, all the time. "And who knows, maybe we ARE out of our minds," she added with a wink. "Now c'mon, let's go get some baby stuff!" She amazed me with how her enthusiasm never faltered.

"Got any stories about the three of you when you were younger?"

"Sara, I've got enough dirt on Michael and Lincoln to plant a new garden every day for the rest of my life." I had just meant stories in general, but she'd piqued my interest with that comment.

"Well don't hold back, he IS the father of my child," I said rubbing my stomach, almost using it as leverage to get juicy details out of her.

"Okay, well it was the summer before Michael was going into the seventh grade, I was about to be a sophomore, and Lincoln had already dropped out. They always used to play pranks on each other and nitpick and everything, and Michael had somehow crazy glued Lincoln to his bed when he was sleeping." I was forced to interrupt her with my laughter.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry. Go on."

"Anyway, Lincoln was really pissed about that one, having got pranked THAT bad by his little brother, so he spent the next three months coming up with a plan of revenge. He'd talked to some of Michael's friends one day and found out about this girl he had a crush on, so he called her and invited her to dinner that night. Michael was struggling with puberty, he had pimples all over his face, his voice cracking at the worst intervals possible, so Lincoln figured it'd be the golden setup for the prank of the century. Even then, though, Michael kept to himself a lot of the time, especially during these awkward years, so he'd be in his room until Lincoln announced dinner."

"Doesn't sound like this is gonna end well," I said softly, subliminally urging her to continue, I was completely enthralled in the story.

"Well me and Lincoln had been waiting outside for her to show up, so Michael wouldn't hear her knock or anything, and she showed up, right? She had taken at least four hours to get dressed up for this, she looked ready to accept an Oscar or something, so we ushered her in and set the table and everything right before Lincoln called for Michael to come and eat. Anyway, Michael came out and turned the corner into the kitchen, dressed like a total bum, and he saw Kayla and froze. I was watching the whole thing, trying to look at everyone's expressions at once, and I saw her give him the sweetest little smile. His cheeks turned redder than a pot of stewed tomatoes and he started stammering, his voice cracking, and Lincoln was leaning against the stove doubled over, doing his best not to burst out in hysterics. Michael ended up running out of the house and it took me and Lincoln until two that morning to find him, sitting behind some 7-Eleven, his eyes red rimmed, his cheeks stained with trails where tears had been. Lincoln had felt so bad for him that he ended up waiting on Michael hand and foot for about a month after that."

I looked at her in amazement. "That's so evil," I said, half jokingly, but still feeling for Michael nonetheless.

"That's not all, though! Kayla ended up calling Michael the next day and practically begged him to go to the movies with her, she'd even offered to pay for everything."

"What'd he do?"

"Well, he refused and hung up, but Lincoln had been listening on the other phone and ended up forcing him to go. Turns out, Michael got his first kiss that night, all because Lincoln had tried to screw him over and it ended up backfiring."

I laughed at shook my head. "Sounds like they were some crazy kids."

"Oh you don't know the half of it, Sara." She tilted her head back and laughed, her dark hair shimmering under the fluorescent lights.

We must've walked up and down every baby isle about thirteen times, and the only thing we ended up buying was one of lightweight folding strollers, which Veronica insisted that she carry.

"I can get used to this being waited on thing," I said jokingly once we were in the car.

"Well that's good, because I know Michael, and you're gonna be pampered like you never thought possible."

"Shouldn't be too hard," I said with a shrug. "I've never been pampered before."

"You're in for a real treat. Whenever I was sick, Michael was the one that always brought me blankets and made me soup when I was laying on their couch, infesting their house with germs."

"You keep referring to it as 'their' house."

"Well…yeah. After Michael's mom died and their dad split, Lincoln had lied to social services, telling them that their aunt moved in."

"I never read anything about them having an aunt," I said, growing more confused by the second.

"That's because they didn't have one. They had old lady Johnson from next door come over whenever social services was going to make a house visit. She was always real protective of those two, constantly checking on them until Lincoln got old enough to 'take of them himself', as he so eloquently put it."

I couldn't do anything but shake my head in sheer astonishment. The love that those brothers shared ran far deeper than almost any sibling compassion, they were each other's lifelines. I finally managed to find my voice. "That's sweet. Him making you soup, I mean."

"Yeah." Veronica's expression told me that she was remembering all of the years she had shared with Michael and Lincoln, before everything took a turn for the worse.

I had been staring blankly out of the windshield, and I noticed LJ in the driveway, and in that instant I knew something was wrong. I was out of the car before it was stopped, running over to LJ.

"Doctor Sara, it's Uncle Mike, he got stung by something in the water, his leg's all ripped open and bleeding! You gotta help him!" Tears were streaming down his face, and I doubted that he cared.

My heart stopped, and my brain raced. "Calm down, LJ, just calm down, where is he?"

"Out back, on the beach! You gotta help him!" He took of running around the house and I followed him, Veronica hot on my trail. I turned the corner and saw him and Lincoln sitting on the railing, devious smiles plastered on their faces, now on LJ's as well.

"Sara," he hopped down and approached me. "Will you marry me?"


	3. Impossible

**Author's Note: **The reviews are great. I love it. You guys are wonderful. Enjoy :)

**Disclaimer: **I do not, nor will I ever, own any of these characters. _Prison Break _and all related elements, characters, and indicia are copyright Paul Scheuring, 20th Century Fox Television, Adelstein-Parouse Productions, and Original Television.

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I could feel the goofy smile on my face but it didn't matter, not until my brain registered Sara's look of disgust, anger, and embarrassment.

"Michael, I think we need to have a talk."

She grabbed my arm and pulled me towards our house. I managed to get one final look over my shoulder, Lincoln and LJ's expressions were apologetic, and Veronica's was astonishment. "I fucked up big time," I thought to myself cynically. I didn't like such severe obscenities, whether they were in my head or not, but it was the only word that came close to describing the mess I made.

Once inside, she whirled around and punched me, surprisingly hard, square in the arm. "What the hell were you thinking, Michael? I'm pregnant with your child and you want to pull a stunt like that? Do you have the slightest idea what that amount of stress and anxiety can do to a fetus? Do you?"

I blinked a couple of times and shook my head slightly, confused, partially to clear the cobwebs, but to adjust to the dull lighting inside as well. "Sara, I'm sorry…I didn't think a marriage proposal was going to be such an unwelcome surprise." Her mouth was gaping in disbelief, furthering my confusion farther.

"You KNOW that's not what I'm talking about."

"I honestly wish I knew what you were talking about. You ran around the house, I asked you to marry me, and here we are."

She scoffed at me, and it hurt me somewhere deep. "Oh, and I'm sure you didn't send LJ to wait for us to get back and tell me your leg was ripped open?"

I was speechless now, and I thought I was confused BEFORE. "What? I told him to go wait for you and bring you around so I could propose to you, I didn't say anything about my leg."

We stood there in the kitchen, completely perplexed at the situation, but the solution seemed to hit us at the same time.

"LJ." Our disappointed voices were in sync with each other. I took Sara's sweaty hand in mine and led her outside where Veronica had apparently just finished scolding Lincoln and LJ. They had evidently come to the same conclusion, LJ was near tears, apologizing relentlessly. "He didn't know you were pregnant," I said under my breath, casting a sideways glance at her, seeing her eyes fill with guilt.

Everyone was staring at everyone else, but no one said anything, the tension being thick enough to choke on. LJ took a final look at everyone around him before turning on his heel and rushing into the house, his thundering footsteps echoing all the way out here. Sara, Veronica and myself all reached the door at the same time, all intent on trying to comfort LJ, but Sara insisted to do it alone.

"Let me…please. Besides, I could use the practice." I couldn't stop the dorky grin from overcoming my face.

I motioned my hands towards the door and stepped back. "Be my guest." Me and Veronica watched her from the porch until she disappeared down the hallway. "Window?" I suggested.

"Window," she confirmed, dashing behind me around the house, creeping under LJ's bedroom window. I heard him sniffling, and I knew he had ran off so he wouldn't have to cry in front of everyone.

"I hope you know what you're doing, Sara," I thought silently, straining to hear her soft voice.

"Mind if I, uh, sit down?"

Silence.

"Okay, I'll stand. Look, LJ, I'm not mad. I thought your dad and your Uncle Mike had already told you I was pregnant."

"Uncle Mike didn't say anything like that."

"Then can I ask what secret you were teasing Veronica about this morning?"

"I was talking about Uncle Mike asking you to marry him."

He sounded heartbreakingly depressed.

"He already knew this morning?"

"Me and dad have known since Panama, Doctor Sara. We used to spend so much time talking about it, coming up with different ways for him to do it. He just wanted it to be a surprise, that's all."

"Well, it sure was surprising," she said with a laugh that wasn't reciprocated. "How about we make your dad cook us all blueberry pancakes for dinner?"

"I'm not really hungry. Thanks."

"Alright then, if you say so. I'll just have your dad make you video tape the baby's birth." Her voice seemed to get higher, giving him an opportunity to change his mind.

"Ew, gross! I'll take the pancakes, along with the lifetime of nightmares you just gave me."

"Hey! I don't look THAT bad, do I?"

"Of course not. You're pretty, Doctor Sara, I just don't think anything that big should have to come outta something that small."

Lincoln let out a howl of laughter, quickly trying to silence himself. I crouched lower, trying to disappear into the ground. My eyes were glued to the window screen, and Sara quickly appeared, finally looking down at us.

"You little eavesdroppers!" I jumped up and stepped back, throwing my hands up defensively.

"Oh, this is LJ's room! I thought it was the living room! We were trying to--,"

"Save it, Michael, you're busted. Isn't that right, LJ?"

"That's right! We got you, Uncle Mike! You, too, dad!"

"Hey, it wasn't just us, kid. Yell at Veronica, too."

"What are you talking about, dad? I hear Veronica doing dishes in the kitchen."

I looked around and spun in about three full circles before realizing that Veronica had hung us out to dry. "But she was--,"

"Busted!" At least LJ seemed to be in a better mood, even if me and Lincoln were now in the proverbial dog house.

"C'mon, Linc," I said with an attempt at joking disbelief. "We don't have to take this third degree. Let's go see if we can make hamburgers without blowing off our hands." With that we were off and Sara's departing comment fell at our backs.

"Michael Scofield, that's not even funny!"

That, of course, only made me laugh harder. God, it felt so good to laugh, not having an incredible burden on my chest anymore. Thinking about happiness made me realize that Sara never answered my question, and I turned to go back but Lincoln grabbed my arm.

"Where're you going?"

"To finish what I started."

"Whoa, hold on there, Mike. You need to seriously reevaluate this plan of yours. The surprise factor is already gone, man. You either need to come up with a new surprise tactic, or give her the most romantic night she's ever seen."

I looked at my brother, the same one who thought a romantic night was hot sex in the backseat with the air conditioner on, and I was baffled.

"Since when did you become this romantic big shot?"

"Michael, I've been in prison for three years. I'm getting old, quick screws God knows where isn't cutting it."

I considered his response thoughtfully. "Well, that's good to know. And you're right, I need to do this right."

"Good, now go plan it out," he said, smacking me right on my tender burn. Even though it'd healed considerably, the slap still hurt. Bad. "Oh, shit, Mike. I'm sorry, I forgot about that."

I straightened up and tried to recover my wincing eyes. "Didn't feel a thing."

"Bullshit."

"You're right. But I'm off to plan."

"Plan what?" I whirled around and saw Sara standing there, her hands on her delicious hips, a curious look on her face.

"A celebration dinner," I quickly lied. "To freedom."

"Well, I've got an appointment with my new physician, Veronica's gonna drive me over there. Can I help with anything when we get back?"

"I guess we'll just have to wait and see."

"Aw, c'mon, Michael," she said, coming over and standing less than a foot from me. She leaned in and whispered in my ear. "I'll give you a surprise." With that she pulled back and kissed me, not holding anything back, her tongue darting into my mouth.

"Well, I think I'll see you when you get home. Be safe."

"I always am." There was that smile again, making me fall in love with her all over.

Lincoln came up from behind me and rubbed my head vigorously, something that always irritated me when we were going up, giving him all the more reason to do it. "Nice cover-up, little brother. You're getting good at this selective lying thing. Now get outta here, go plan that celebration dinner, I'll grill us all some hamburgers."

I walked into our house and admired everything Sara had picked out, she really made it feel like home. All of the furniture complimented the hardwood floors, the whole place giving you a warm feeling as soon as you stepped inside. Put a place like this up north, you wouldn't even need a fireplace.

Deciding that admiring the interior décor wasn't getting anything done, I plopped down in the easy chair and reclined it, letting my mind swarm with thoughts on how to make my proposal perfect.

I must've dozed off in the chair, because I snapped into consciousness when I heard the car door slam, and hurriedly stood up and tried to smooth out my disheveled look.

"How'd everything go?"

"Fine." She seemed distracted, like her body was here, but her mind was somewhere a thousand miles away. I ruled it off, figuring it could be a number of things, given everything she's been through lately. "I'm going to go lay down."

"Are you alright?"

"Yeah, just a little tired. I'll see you in a couple hours, okay?"

"Okay. I'll wake you up if you're still sleeping by dinner time."

"Uh huh."

"Goodnight." I watched her lazily make her way across the living room and down the hall before disappearing into our bedroom, and I set out to find Veronica.

She was out back with Lincoln, leaning on the wooden railing and admiring the ocean, neither of them talking, but I could tell something was definitely up.

"What's going on, V?"

She turned around and seemed startled, like she had no idea I was there. "What do you mean?"

"Well first off, you sound nervous. Secondly, Sara just went to sleep, she came in acting all funny."

"She's been acting funny since we left, Michael."

"Why?"

"I asked her. She said she thought she was getting a cold or something."

"And you believed her?"

"Why wouldn't I?"

"Nevermind, I'm sorry, I'm not feeling too good myself. I've got some stuff to do, but I'll talk to you guys later."

I rushed around the kitchen once I saw the clock, I only had an hour until dinner, setting everything up, getting things ready. I finished right on time, thankfully, and sat on the edge of the bed.

"Sara…" I put my hand on her hip and shook her slightly. "Sara, it's time to eat." She sat up groggily and yawned, rubbing her eyes. "Feeling better?"

"Not really."

"I'm sorry…maybe you just need a home cooked meal. C'mon, dinner awaits us," I said with a smile, grabbing her hand and helping her up, leading her into the dining room. Her hair was a mess, but she still looked beautiful when she gasped, seeing the sight before her.

There were candles scattered everywhere, red plastic around them, casting the house in a crimson glow, soft music playing, and a dinner for two waiting on the table.

"Michael…you shouldn't have."

"Of course I should've. Now c'mon, sit down." I ushered her into a chair, sliding it in for her and taking my seat opposite her, grabbing her hands in mine.

"Sara, I've loved you since I first saw you."

"Michael…"

"No, let me finish. True love is the most precious thing in this world, and I'm thankful to be sharing that with you." I let go of one of her hands and crouched down on one knee.

"Stop…" Her voice was almost a pleading whisper.

"I want to spend the rest of my days with you." I took a deep breath and produced the little black box and opened it. "Will you marry me, Sara?"

"Michael, I had a miscarriage…"


	4. Drinks

**Author's Note: **Let me apologize up front for the length of this chapter and the time it took to update the story. Sunday was filled with football, and I'm still struggling against some kind of virus, but I tried to make this chapter measure up to the others. Hope you like it.

**Disclaimer: **I do not, nor will I ever, own any of these characters. _Prison Break _and all related elements, characters, and indicia are copyright Paul Scheuring, 20th Century Fox Television, Adelstein-Parouse Productions, and Original Television.

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"Michael," I repeated, finally getting aggravated and kicking his precious recliner. "Get up, time to eat." My kick jerked him awake, he nearly jumped through the roof. "Good morning, sunshine," I said with a smile.

"What? Where's Sara?" He started dashing towards the bedroom but I grabbed his shoulder and pointed his body at the glass door.

"Try outside, waiting for your lazy ass to eat. What's your deal, Mike?"

"I, uh…Nothing, a little off, I guess."

He looked around like he was disoriented and it kind of made me nervous, Michael wasn't the type to act like that, even if he had just been woken up. I shrugged it off and went back to the grill, removing the last of the hamburgers.

"Where's Michael?"

"He's comin', Doc, have a seat." I turned around with the platter and saw Michael come out of the house, stumbling across the deck and managing to take a seat at the table next to Sara.

"How, uh…How's the baby?" I heard him ask.

"About as healthy as a nearly brand new embryo can be," she said, completely amused with his nervousness. "I don't think you did much planning on this celebration dinner being asleep."

"I, uh, yeah, the dinner isn't tonight."

"Then when is it?"

"What's today?"

"Monday…"

"Friday. The dinner's Friday."

"Good, it sounds good. Gonna feel up to planning it later tonight?"

"A, uh, sure. It's a date."

"Our first."

It looked like everyone took a minute to think about what she said. I mean, she's pregnant with his kid, he already asked her to marry him, and they haven't even had a first date.

"Figures," I thought with a smile. "Only Michael could pull off something as illogical as that."

Once again, I was launched into a huge thought process about Veronica and my future. I know she loves me, she's made a point of constantly letting me know since we met her in Blackfoot, but something inside me is set on keeping her at arm's length for her own good. I'm not a good little ten year old anymore. The life of hardship and criminal activity is the only life I know, and Veronica deserves so much more than that. She's put everything on the line for me, including her life, time and time again. She was constantly there supporting me and coming to my defense even when we both knew damn well that I didn't deserve it. And even after all those fights full of shit we later regretted, her door was always open for me when I otherwise wouldn't of had a place to lay my head. To make it harder, LJ had grown amazingly close to her lately. At the same time, it's the only reason me and him haven't split yet. With his mom dead, I know how important it is for him to find a female to trust, one that cares about him as much as Veronica, and I guess that's why we're sticking around for now. Well, that's the façade I put up, at least. The central truth is simple. I love her too damn much to leave her again. Waking up with her in my arms revived a part of me that I thought had died a long time ago, and it scares the hell outta me. She makes me want to be a normal man with a normal life and a normal family. I'd made damn sure Michael had all the resources he needed to build a successful future, predominantly the ninety grand I borrowed. Michael always had a phenomenal amount of potential, I knew it and so did Veronica. I was still young when I took that "loan", and Veronica had constantly been on my case from then until the day Michael graduated at the top of his class. I believed in him then, and he reciprocated when I was sitting on death row, sentenced to have my life abruptly ended. I don't even want to think about what it'd do to LJ if me and Mike had both died. Abruzzi would've took more than his toes if the escape didn't work out, and if he didn't, that bastard T-Bag sure as hell would've.

"Lincoln!" Her voice snapped me back into a reality I didn't know I left.

"Yeah?"

"Come on, help me with the dishes."

"Oh, yeah…Sure thing, V." I stood up and absentmindedly began clearing off the table, noting that my plate was just as empty as everyone else's. Guess I'm a hungry thinker.

Mike and the Doc had left after dinner, and LJ was gonna go walk on the beach for a while, giving me and Veronica the whole house to ourselves. I'd been violently scrubbing down everything, determined to keep myself busy so I wouldn't take Veronica right here on this cold tile. That plan was shot to hell, though, as she starting cleaning in the same manner I was, her vicious strokes causing her breasts to bounce dangerously close to her low neckline. I gritted my teeth and tried to rub harder, but she seemed to always be in my peripherals, sweat sliding across her skin, down into her shirt, drawing some low, primal noise from my throat.

"Did you just growl at me?" She questioned after a second of hesitation. Her serious question ended in both of us laughing uncontrollably, gripping whatever we could for balance.

"Can we talk?" I asked after the final rumbles of laughter had subsided.

"Sure." She grabbed my hand and pulled me into the living room, onto the couch. My hand was nearly twice her size, but hers still felt too perfect in mind, and it just made what I had to say even harder.

"Me and LJ…We can't stay here," I said, rapidly raking a hand over my hand.

"What do you mean?"

"You know what I mean, V. There's still a substantial chance that I have a target on my back, you don't need to be caught in the middle."

"Neither does LJ."

"LJ's my son, damn it. I'm not gonna pawn him off on anyone."

"I never said you should."

"Then what ARE you saying?" I jumped to my feet, frustration making it harder not to say something I might regret later.

She was going blow for blow, getting to her feet, too, right in my face, but her voice stayed calm. "I'm saying that I love you, Lincoln, we both know it. If you think I'm gonna sit around and let you run away from another one of your problems, you're wrong. We've been through too much of this running and hiding, Linc."

"I, uh, I need a drink."

"There's beer in the fridge."

"No, I mean I need a drink, at a bar, alone. Tell LJ I'll see him when I get back." I grabbed the keys off the table and shut the door behind me, knowing that if I let Veronica say anything else, it'd be something that'd make me stay, and I couldn't do it. The air outside surprised me, it was relatively cool on my bare skin, then I remembered we were on the beach and the breeze did a lot for the hot temperatures. The night was great, the sky covered in stars, and I decided to walk to the bar and shoved the keys into my pocket.

I couldn't get enough of being outside, watching normal people do normal things. I saw families sitting at the table eating dinner, young kids cuddled up on a couch watching some lame movie, and I knew that they took all of it for granted. After you've been strapped into the electric chair, you gain an unparalleled perspective on things, it really clears up a lot of that gray area.

I must've walked for an hour, and still no bar, so I decided to duck into a liquor store.

"Good evening, sir." Great, a stereotypical Arab behind the counter. I just nodded my head at him with a weak smile, proceeding to the back and grabbing a fifth of Jim Beam, my savior before prison.

"Will this be all for you?" Another nod. "Two dollars and seventy four cents." I handed him a five.

"Keep the change." I was at the door before I turned around. "You know what? Gimme a pack of cheap cigarettes."

"Menthol or full flavor?"

"Menthol."

"One hundreds or shorts?"

"Whatever you got, boss, it doesn't matter."

"Here you go, sir. Come again."

"Thanks." Once I was outside I glanced at the pack in my hand. GPX. "Wow," I muttered. "Must be a Florida thing. Shoulda sprung for Newports." I shrugged it off and opened the pack, sliding one between my lips before I realized I didn't have a lighter. I went back inside, the cigarette hanging out of my mouth. "Got a lighter, boss?" He slid an orange Bic across the counter and I grabbed it, figuring that five dollars must be nearly gone now. "I'll bring it back, I'm just gonna stand outside for a bit." He smiled at me and nodded and I went back outside, leaning against the wall. The smoke filled my lungs and I was flooded with enough euphoria to almost make me forget about the whiskey I had bought, still snuggled in its brown paper bag. I took a long swig and it burned all the way down, bringing back memories of worse times on the streets, doing whatever I could to make it by. The fifth was gone in less than twenty minutes as I watched different people come and go, most of them leaving with beer and cigarettes. One guy pulled up in some beat up car, but when he left, he walked around the side of the store. I followed him, figuring he was going to the bathroom, and I wanted to know where it was, my bladder become strained as every minute passed by. He turned behind the store and I peered around the corner, seeing the silhouettes of two kids back by the dumpster. I could see an ember glowing near one of their mouths, and I knew for damn sure that it was a joint, and this guy was gonna jump those kids. The light from the distant streetlamp glimmered off of something metal in the guy's hand, a knife.

"Drop the fuckin' knife, man." He spun around and saw me flick my cigarette butt and clench my fists, ready for whatever he had. He grabbed one of the kids in a headlock of sorts and pressed the knife to his throat, edging closer. I held up my hands and took a step back, not wanting a kid to hurt in all of this, I had a kid myself, no parent deserved the news that their kid got their throat cut behind a liquor store. "Let the kid go," I said, growing severely impatient with this guy.

"No, I don't think so, not yet." With every step he took towards me, I took one backwards, until the light was on the kid's face.

"LJ!"


	5. LJ

**Author's Note: **This chapter is shorter than the last one, and I think I'm just not too good at writing POV's other than Michael and Sara, so I think I'll stick with those from now on. At any rate, enjoy the story.

**Disclaimer: **I do not, nor will I ever, own any of these characters. _Prison Break _and all related elements, characters, and indicia are copyright Paul Scheuring, 20th Century Fox Television, Adelstein-Parouse Productions, and Original Television.

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I heard dad tell the guy to drop the knife and that's when I turned around. I was too scared for getting busted with pot that I didn't even pay attention to the knife in the guy's hand until he pressed it against my neck. My fingers were digging into the guy's arm so hard that my knuckles were white, and all I could do was try to stare at the blade, hope that dad did something to get it as far away from me as possible.

"What do you want, huh? You want money?" Dad threw a stack of bills onto the ground in front of him, and he got this look in his eye that he used to get when he was drunk, and I knew something bad was gonna happen that night. The guy looked down at the money, probably trying to count it in the dim light, and I saw dad lunge at us. I guess the guy hadn't really robbed people before, because he looked up and saw dad's face and he let go of me and fell backwards, his ass slamming against the concrete. Dad grabbed me and pushed me out of the way, still staring at the guy.

"Go on, get your fuckin' money." The guy stared at him for a minute, then started crawling towards the heap of bills, shoving them into his pocket. Dad didn't waste any time though, he hauled off and kicked the guy right in his ribs, lifting him off the ground. The knife flew a good ten feet away, and dad picked the guy up and shoved him against the wall. "If you ever even look at my son again, I swear to God I'll kill you. Understood?"

The guy nodded weakly and dad shoved his hand into the guy's pocket, getting his money back.

"Good. Glad we're on the same page here. Have a nice evening." I thought it was all over, but dad caught the guy with an immense head butt and let the guy slide to the ground before turning to me. "I'm kicking your ass all over the place when we get home, kid. C'mon." While I knew I was in trouble, something in his voice told me that he was really just happy that I was okay.

The walk home was longer than I remember it, but dad stopped in a store and bought me a soda. He didn't really talk much, so I didn't say anything, we just walked in silence. I could smell the booze and smoke on him and it sucked. I thought I was finally gonna have a normal life, but here he was, falling back into his old habits. Before I know it, he'll be gone for whole nights, leaving me curled up in bed wondering if he's okay, then hugging him whenever he gets home, smelling the perfume of whatever girl he slept with. I needed to talk to Veronica, she'd do something, she had to, no one else could. She was the only one dad looked at other than a piece of ass, he loved her, and everyone knew it. He pushes her away all the time, though, distancing himself from any chance we can have at a normal life, and it makes me wanna punch him. I don't, though, because common sense kicks in, and hitting dad isn't the smartest move someone can make. I just bite my tongue and scream in silence, waiting for the day he decides to stop being Mr. Tough Guy and just let V love him like everyone knows she wants to. I glanced at my watch, noticing that it was already eleven.

"Can I say goodnight to Veronica if she's still up?"

"Sure thing, kid."

We walked past Uncle Mike and Doctor Sara's house, the light in their bedroom was still on, probably planning that celebration dinner thing. I thought the whole idea was bogus, but I was just glad I could spend time with what was now my family. I glanced over and saw that dad had sobered up pretty good. We were in the driveway before he said something else.

"What happened back there? That stays between us." I nodded and opened the door, walking over to Veronica and giving her a hug.

"Goodnight, V."

"Goodnight, LJ." That was weird. She didn't question why we came home together, or why I was gone so late. Something must be up. I treaded heavily to my room and kicked off my shoes so I could creep back down the hallway and see what was going on. Dad was on the couch with V, and she was cuddled up next to him, something I hardly ever saw before.

"Lincoln…I haven't been completely honest with you."

"Take a number," he said, letting out a small, sad laugh.

"I'm serious."

"Me, too."

She sighed like dad was aggravating her, but continued anyway. "I don't know how to say this, but…I'm pregnant, Lincoln."


	6. Long Night

**Author's Note: **Yay for another Michael POV! Let me know what you think :)

**Disclaimer: **I do not, nor will I ever, own any of these characters. _Prison Break _and all related elements, characters, and indicia are copyright Paul Scheuring, 20th Century Fox Television, Adelstein-Parouse Productions, and Original Television.

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Sara seemed intent on planning this celebration dinner, so I decided to go along with it, for her sake and my peace of mind. I had everything important figured out already, so me and her sat in our room and shot ideas back and forth, and I usually agreed with hers. I told her she was going to have to take Lincoln and LJ to the store or something so I could set up.

"Why can't Veronica take them?"

"Because I want to make sure it's done right," I said with a smile, knowing that my flattery would get her.

"You sure are a sweet talker."

"Well you deserve to be sweet talked, Doctor Tancredi." And there it was. She pushed me off the bed and laughed as if I spontaneously fell. Her mock surprise was so convincing that I thought I DID spontaneously fall for a second there, she even extended her hand and everything to help me up. She was lucky I didn't pull her down with me, but I was playing it easy during the pregnancy, I didn't want to take any chance of complicating things. Lord knows both our lives have been way too complicated as it is, we don't need any other difficulties. So there we were, starting our new suburban life together, and I couldn't be happier. One thought wouldn't get out of my head, no matter how hard I willed myself to get rid of it.

Nika.

I couldn't help but feel guilty for the way I had used her on more occasions than we originally agreed on, but I kept telling myself I did it for Lincoln, it's what I had to believe.

"Michael? What's wrong?"

"Just thinking," I answered, slowly drawing myself back to reality, the here and now that was my new beginning.

"About anything in particular?"

"Is it ever that easy?" She let out a sad laugh and kissed my forehead before laying down and drawing the blanket up to her chin.

"Goodnight."

"Goodnight." And there I sat, in the dark, knowing that I should already be next to her, my arm encircling her waist, but I just sat there.

"Sara…"

"Yeah?"

"I love you," I said, like I was trying to validate the point I'd been going over in my head. I could hear the smile in her voice when she said she loved me, too, and it pushed everything I was unsure about into the back of my mind.

I was only asleep for maybe two hours before I woke to the bathroom light shining through the cracked door and the soft babbling of the water faucet running. I swung my legs over the side of the bed and sat up with a yawning stretch, letting my feet absorb the soft carpet while my eyes adjusted to the scarce light. Sara must've heard my joints popping because she mumbled something vaguely resembling "I'll be out in a second." That just made me even more concerned as I stalked across the floor to the bathroom, easing the door open and peering inside.

"You okay?"

"Yeah, fine. Go back to bed, I'll be there in a second." Something about the way she was cradling the toilet bowl, her red hair falling into the water, told me she was everything except fine. I looked around and found a scrunchie and threw her hair into a haphazard bun of sorts before running a cool bath in the tub. After it seemed she was done puking, I had her gargle some mouthwash and helped her undress. I managed to slip her white tank top over her head, completely annihilating her new hairstyle. Her loose satin pants were a different story, though. I had to stand her up and have her lean against me for balance so I could slide them down to her knees, then sit her on the now closed toilet while I finished pulling them off. Despite her raging fever, her petite body was still trembling, and it only escalated when I lowered her into the tub. Her pale breasts heaved as every tremor rolled through her body, making it all the more difficult to successfully wash her hair while keeping the shampoo out of her eyes.

"Wait here, I'll be right back," I said, draining the water from the tub. My movements were methodically brisk as I walked to the hallway and jacked the thermostat to ninety, grabbing a maroon sweat suit and heading to the bathroom. I dried her hair first while the water finished draining and moved on to the rest of her body, taking extra caution to be gentle. I was beyond surprised when I realized that I just bathed her and I wasn't even the slightest bit aroused, my concern for her overpowering my libido. She seemed more composed as I dressed her, standing upright by herself, talking coherently.

"Why's it so hot in here?" She asked, already knowing the answer.

"Gotta break that fever," I replied, leading her to the bed and piling the blankets over her. "Don't go to sleep, yet."

"Pretty hard to sleep in a sauna." She offered a weak smile and I returned it, going to the kitchen and coming back with a glass of orange juice and a straw.

"Drink up, Doctor Tancredi." Her colorless lips wrapped around the straw and she gulped greedily, finishing off half of the juice. "Were you thirsty?"

"A little," she said, resting her head back on her pillow with a small smile and closing her eyes. I tucked the blankets around her and leaned down, my lips grazing her clammy forehead.

"Goodnight." My whisper confirmed my suspicions, she was already sound asleep, her breath coming in a steady rhythm. I eased out of the room backwards, pulling the door shut behind me and going into the kitchen, opening up the sliding door.

I turned on the coffee pot and stepped out onto the deck, leaning against the rail, the salty morning air feeling like a blessing against my ink covered skin. I watched the small waves lap onto the beach, the first seagulls waking up and swooping into the water for their breakfast.

"Mike?" I glanced to my right and saw Lincoln appearing to have just been doing what I was. He quietly jogged across the yard and up next to me, his hands never leaving his pockets.

"Hiding something?" I didn't look at him, but we both knew what I was talking about.

"It's either this or pull my hair out," he said with a mixture of lightheartedness and frustration, a way that had become his trademark tone of voice.

"Do I want to ask?" I knew I did just as well as him.

"That's up to you." Something was definitely up, he was doing that thing with his eyes, squinting them so they're almost not even open anymore, and I sighed in aggravation.

"Alright, I'm asking."

"Veronica's pregnant."

"You're kidding."

"Why else would I be awake at five in the morning?"

"Because that's what grumpy old men do?"

"Ugh, don't remind me."

"Take it easy. You're a free man, you've got Veronica, you've got LJ, and you've got another one on the way.

"It's not mine."

I looked at my brother, confusion etched all over my face. "What are you talking about, Linc? It sure as hell isn't mine."

"I haven't slept with Veronica in over three years, it's either Nick's or Sebastian's or…" His voice trailed off briefly. "Or someone else's."

"That's ridiculous. If it's not yours, it's got to be Sebastian's. We both know her, she wouldn't sleep with Nick, much less someone else. She's not a tramp."

"You think I don't know that, Mike?" This was the first time in a long time that my brother's anger had intimidated me, but once I stepped back and saw the big picture I realized it wasn't anger at all. It was raw jealously. He was jealous of Sebastian for getting Veronica pregnant. He was jealous because he wasn't the father. He was jealous because he knew that even if Veronica stayed with him and raised the kid as his son it would never have his genes. I just happened to have gotten sucked into this predicament, as if I didn't already have more than I could chew, but I couldn't think of a single thing that could comfort him. I was forced into sharing a silence with him and hoping that it meant something, that he knew I sympathized with what he was going through. Something told me this was an issue he had to work through on his own, an issue that couldn't be solved or eased by myself, or anyone else for that matter. He turned back around and stared across the open sea, and I saw a silent tear run down his cheek, falling off of his chin and landing in the sand below.


	7. Doctors & Toilets

**Author's Note: **Well, let me know what you think. Try not to be too confused with the ending :)

**Disclaimer: **I do not, nor will I ever, own any of these characters. _Prison Break _and all related elements, characters, and indicia are copyright Paul Scheuring, 20th Century Fox Television, Adelstein-Parouse Productions, and Original Television.

----------

I was pretty disoriented when I woke up, I couldn't even manage to find the clock. I'm sure the sweat in my eyes was a contributing factor, but it's the fact that I didn't know what time it was that frustrated me. I guessed it was sometime around noon, trying to judge it by the light coming through the window, finally deciding that it didn't really matter anyway. I was burning up under the blankets, and I could feel sweat stains in every undesirable place I could think of, the thought of the odor beneath the sheets being enough to make me cringe, which only made me even more nauseous. It'd be a rare case if it was morning sickness, since that doesn't usually occur until about the fifth to seventh week, but it was looking a lot better than the more serious alternatives.

"Good," I thought to myself weakly. "Morning sickness usually equals a lesser chance of a miscarriage." I reached over and slowly grabbed one of Michael's pillows and wiped my eyes with the pillowcase, looking around and seeing a big, plastic bowl on the table next to me. I couldn't help the smile that came, thinking about Michael running around trying to do everything. With the smile came more nausea, and I grabbed the bowl just in time as my orange juice from this morning came back up, followed by some highly uncomfortable dry heaves. I set the bowl next to me on the bed and leaned my head back, closing my eyes and trying to calm myself.

"Feeling any better?" I couldn't will myself to open my eyes, but I knew Michael had stood in the doorway and was now approaching me, I could smell him as he got closer.

"Magnificent," I said, knowing that neither of us believed the lie.

"I brought you some bland and tasteless crackers. They should be easier on your stomach than the orange juice." I could tell that he was looking in the bowl, his voice sounding guilty for giving me something so acidic.

"Since when did you become a pregnancy expert?" I asked, making sure I took my time talking, not really wanting to take on more dry heaves.

"Since Veronica woke up and I got on her laptop and scrounged over every bit of information I could find." I forced myself to take deep breaths and not smile, remembering what happened the last time.

"So what do you recommend, Dr. Scofield?"

"Well, I turned the heater off, now I suggest we get you out of those sweats and into something comfortable."

"Gladly," I said, sitting up with another wave of nausea, landing back on the bed, bowl in my face. By the time I had finished vomiting, Michael had the blankets off of me and my clothes from that morning in his hands.

"One suit of freshly washed comfortable clothing," he said, placing them on the end of the bed, away from the virtual puddles of sweat.

"You didn't have to do all this, Michael."

"Oh, and I guess I didn't have to go buy a stack of tear-jerking movies for you to watch?"

"Michael…"

"Yeah?"

"You're a dork."

"I'm your dork, Sara. I'll be back in a couple of minutes to see if you need help with anything. Come in the living room if you can, Veronica's waiting to watch Ghost or something." I saw him roll his beautiful eyes as he left, and it motivated me that much more to successfully dress myself.

Yeah, right. Easier said than done. After a handful of attempts and standing up and moving at the same time, I somehow managed to lay down and peel the sticky sweats from my body. I grabbed the clothes with my feet and tossed them up so I could reach them and made a daring attempt at reaching the bathroom. I ended up crawling along the wall, but I was finally sitting on the closed toilet with a wet washcloth in my hand, the cold porcelain feeling amazingly refreshing against my bare flesh. I wiped all of the sweat off, replacing it with cool water, and struggled into my satin pants and cotton tank top.

"Great. Now the long walk." Muttering under my breath seemed to be something I was good at lately. I opened the bathroom door and Michael was standing there, rinsed out puke bowl in hand, and I nearly fell backwards. "That did absolutely nothing constructive for my nausea," I said with a vague attempt at a laugh.

"Sorry. Hold this." He put the bowl in my hands and scooped me into his arms, his breath hot on my neck, drawing out moisture that was neither sweat nor water. I tried to battle my arousal and stay strong, not wanting to puke all over Michael as he carried me to living room and set me down on the couch. Veronica was already sitting next to me, and she handed me the familiar box of crackers and a bottle of Gatorade.

"Gotta have your electrolytes," she said with a smile.

"Have all of you crammed for a pregnancy exam or something?" Everyone laughed except me, I was too busy willing myself not to vomit again. No matter what I wanted, I couldn't help from smiling as LJ rushed over and slid the coffee table closer to the couch, manually propping my feet up, along with Veronica's.

"There," he said, standing back with a look like he was admiring a masterpiece he created.

"Thank you, LJ, but really, I'm not a blimp yet, I'm in no hurry to see my feet." He laughed and disappeared somewhere else, leaving me and Veronica alone, our eyes fixed on the movie.

By the time the end credits were rolling, my nausea seemed to have subsided, for now, at least, and I was grateful. I had ate six or seven crackers and drank a little bit of the sports drink, feeling confident I could keep it down. I spoke too soon, though, it tasted about twenty times worse coming back up, the smell alone almost causing me to vomit more.

"You're going through hell, sweetie." I grabbed a tissue from the box on the couch and wiped my mouth along with my tongue, aching to get the taste to go away.

"It's not nearly as glamorous as I'd envisioned," I said with a laugh. I could talk and laugh and move without the room spinning now, but I guess I needed to have a bowl handy, the vomiting creeping up and attacking me at random intervals.

I ultimately decided against moving around and made the best of sitting on the couch talking to Veronica, trying to ignore the numbness in my butt.

"Have you and Michael picked out any names?"

I shook my head a little. "No. Any suggestions?"

"I heard Veronica is gaining popularity."

I laughed, and she laughed because I laughed, and we just sat there and laughed like idiots for what seemed like forever until laughing hurt our mouths, which was about the time LJ walked in.

"You know, an outsider of all this would think you two were way over the limit," he said, making his hand into a beer bottle and drinking from it. Me and Veronica stared at him, trying to contain our laughter for fear of exploding until he sighed and walked away. "I just don't know how dad and Uncle Mike deal with all those hormones." We waited until he was out of earshot and busted into another giggle fit, tears streaming down both of our faces. Michael came in and looked at us, then kissed me on my laughing smile, shaking his head in mock pity.

"You two have lost it. And you," he said, pointing at me accusingly. "You taste like crackers." He was gone, and the laughter erupted again, neither of us being able to stop it, probably not even if our lives were at stake.

I somehow made it through that day and night, but once again it was early morning and I still couldn't eat or drink anything without vomiting. More crackers and Gatorade had just came back up, making one disgusting sight for me in the toilet.

"We're taking you to the hospital, this isn't normal."

"Michael, I'm fine, it's--,"

"It's not fine, Sara. Get dressed, I'll go grab your bowl." Something in Michael's voice told me this wasn't an issue I wanted to argue, so I reluctantly pulled on an old pair of jeans and a tee shirt and met him in the car.

I hated being back in a hospital, the fluorescent lights making my head hurt, the putrid smell of the place making me vomit even more, and I was embarrassed that Michael had to be here with me, babysitting me, when I was supposed to be the doctor.

I ended up thoroughly explaining my "problem" to about six different people, and by the time it was finished, I just wanted to forget it all and go home. Michael thought otherwise, sitting me back down on the table in the exam room, the doctor joining us soon afterwards, littering us with small talk.

"Anyway, it seems there's a possibility that you have hyperemesis gravidarum, but it's honestly too early in the pregnancy to tell."

"What? What's that?" Michael was beyond the point of anxious, the worry in his voice being more than clear.

"Literally, it means extreme vomiting of the pregnant woman."

"No kidding. I wasn't asking for a damn definition."

"Take it easy, big fella. Although less than two percent of pregnant women are affected by it, it rarely ever gets untreatable, that's only when it goes too long unnoticed. We're going to keep her for the rest of the day, and possibly the night, to manually nourish and hydrate her via intravenous drip. And after that, once she's good to go, I'll prescribe a medication that should ease her vomiting and allow her to eat and drink on her own. Here's a gown, you'll need to change into it. A nurse will be in to show you to your room."

"Thank you, doctor." I exhaled a massive sigh of relief, thankful that nothing was complicating the pregnancy. Michael, on the other hand, was pacing back and forth in the small space, running his hands through his hair. "Calm down, everything's fine," I said, slipping out of my clothes and into the gown. "Hold these? Don't worry, go get some sleep, come back tonight and we'll go pick up my Zofran."

"Zofran?"

"It's the only common medication for HG," I said, handing him my clothes.

"How do you know?"

"I remember learning about all of this in school." He seemed to ponder my answer then shrugged, the both of us following the nurse the short distance to my room, the IV being inserted into my arm.

"I'm going to go call Lincoln, let him know where we are."

"Go, Michael. It's fine."

"No, I'll be back." With that he was gone, and my eyelids drooped shut, the conscious world slipping into darkness.

When I woke up, the sun was shining too brightly through the window, and Michael was sitting in the chair next to me, holding my hand.

"Enjoy your nap?" I'm not sure where it came from, but I made some odd sound of satisfaction.

"Very much."

"Knock knock." I turned my head and saw Veronica and Lincoln come in the room. Before I knew it, Michael had kissed my hand softly and left.

"What's going on?" Confusion was setting in, but at least I wasn't vomiting at the moment.

"Sara," Veronica could hardly contain her excitement. "I'm pregnant with Lincoln's baby!" Her loud squee must have echoed four blocks away, Lincoln's smile being brighter than the fluorescent lights and the sun put together.


	8. Released

**Author's Note: **Sorry this chapter took so long, there's been quite a few "situations" that seemed to have risen at the worst possible moments. Enjoy :)

**Disclaimer: **I do not, nor will I ever, own any of these characters. _Prison Break _and all related elements, characters, and indicia are copyright Paul Scheuring, 20th Century Fox Television, Adelstein-Parouse Productions, and Original Television.

----------

LJ was in the waiting room staring at the snack machine, unaware that I was standing behind him, or so I thought.

"Is it worth it, Uncle Mike?"

"Is what worth it?" He'd really caught me off guard, especially with the tone he said it in.

"Seventy five cents for a damn pack of gum," he said in disgust, walking over and sitting in a chair next to the payphone. I leaned against the wall and put my hand on his shoulder, sighing dramatically.

"What's the world coming to?"

"Screw it."

"This wouldn't have anything to do with your new sibling, would it?"

"It doesn't matter. Everyone's already too busy as it is. Your kid, dad's kid, it's just gonna push me farther down the priority list."

"That's bull, LJ, and you know it. We've hung out every day since you've been back, surfing and talking about nothing. None of that's gonna change. Besides, God put Sara and Veronica here for a reason," I said with a wink. "Babysitters." LJ's depression faded into a howl of laughter for the moment, drawing some strange looks from the other people scattered about the waiting room, only making him laugh harder.

"I guess you're right, I'm sorry, Uncle Mike. I guess I'm still lost, hearing everything dad and V told me about the new kid." I nodded silently, waiting to see if he would continue. "I mean, dad swore up and down he never…you know, did it with V, I hated seeing him like that, all depressed. But you were there this morning, you saw how happy he was when she told him that it was his, that they did do it, that night in Montana when he got really drunk."

"LJ, your dad gets really drunk every night."

"You got a point," he said with a laugh. Lincoln wasn't a mean drunk, or a violent one, he was happier than ever, completely easygoing, and I was glad LJ got that instead of an abusive one. "You and dad are gonna go crazy, V and Doctor Sara both being pregnant at the same time, talk about mood swing central."

"Ha, don't remind me. Are you still going to be calling her Doctor when she becomes your Aunt Sara?"

"Hm…I like both. Is that okay?"

"I think that's up to her. C'mon, let's go see." I pulled LJ to his feet and draped my arm across his shoulder, walking him to the elevator.

The elevator was empty, surprising given the time of day. We didn't mind, though, it was only a short ride and an even shorter walk to Sara's room. Lincoln and Veronica were standing near the bed with beaming smiles, listening to Sara talk about everything the doctor had told us. She'd just finished explaining HG, giving them it's lament meaning when I nudged LJ, nodding towards the bed.

"Uh, Doctor Sara?" He asked, walking slowly towards her.

"Yeah?"

"Um, when you and Uncle Mike get married, do I have to call you Aunt Sara?"

"You can call me whatever you want, LJ."

"Thanks," he said with a goofy grin. I pat him on the back and walked over to the window, staring at the distant ocean, letting my mind wander with thoughts. I was hoping Sara didn't bring up the engagement idea, I wasn't done planning the perfect scenario yet. I knew a lot of what I wanted to do her, I just prayed that it would be enough to take her breath away.

It was about nine that night, and everyone had left except me. I still sat next to the bed and held Sara's hand, stroking it with my fingers, letting her know I was here for her. I watched her eyes droop down every now and then and I knew she must be tired.

"Go to sleep, Sara. You and the baby have to need it, especially after all this."

"I will. As soon as I know you're in our bed getting COMFORTABLE sleep for the three of us."

"I'm not leaving."

"Then I'm not sleeping."

"Don't do this." Dammit, she was being manipulative. "Alright," I sighed. "I'll go." I stood up and leaned down, kissing her lips with a gentle passion before heading for the door.

"Goodnight."

"I love you." I took the elevator back down to the waiting room and bought a cup of coffee, sitting in a chair and taking occasional sips, watching the same news stories repeat themselves on the television mounted on the wall. Hardly any of the information relayed was worth a damn, but it gave me something to do for the moment, to pass the time. The hospital was nearly deserted and practically silent, not to mention pretty cold, too. I started rubbing my bare arms to create some warm friction before I remembered the tattoos, the scars that ran much deeper than the ink. I despised them more than I could even imagine, and the only thing that kept me out of long sleeves was the hot climate down here. I'd be glad when winter got here, even though it never gets really cold, it'd still be cool enough for me to cover my tattoos without passing out from heat exhaustion. Before all of this, I would've thought the designs and the pictures were beautiful, but now, after everything that had happened, they repulsed me. Angels and demons, prison blueprints, contingency plans for every possibility, I hated every damn meaning of it. With every shower I took, I scrubbed them viciously, hoping for the miracle that they'd just come off my skin and wash themselves down the drain, getting rid of the proof that validated my guilt for the lost lives. It never happened that way, though. I was always left with skin that burned worse than fire, scrubbed raw to the point of nearly bleeding. Some of the others, they might have a chance and putting all of this behind them, the same people that don't have remainders permanently scattered across their bodies. Tattoos, missing toes, massive scars on their backs. It wouldn't matter what I did, I could never escape the tormenting thoughts of those few months. I could escape eight fugitives out of a maximum security prison, but I couldn't escape the memories. Memories were like fear, just air, not even that, but yet I could make fear disappear. These memories would never leave. They were forever, whether or not I objected. This life outside was too unpredictable, too unforgiving for planning. Sure, I could plan little things, this and that, but I would never be able to plan the big picture. Life just has an unbearable amount of undefined variables and twists of fate for any logic.

I drew myself out of thought, afraid that I might pass out partly from the overwhelming dread they brought me, and partly from how tired I was. I stood up and stretched, looking around me and seeing nothing and no one of interest, and headed across the floor to the bathrooms.

I noticed how much colder it was in this smaller space as I unzipped my fly, taking a look around. It's a sad thought, but this bathroom is the dirtiest thing I've seen in the hospital since I've been here. I shake and zip back up before I go over to the sink. Water puddles are scattered across various parts of the counter, wet and ripped paper towels making this place all the more undesirable. After my hands are clean, they're about twenty times colder than before, and I hurriedly dry them off, proceeding out of the door and back up to Sara's room.

I start walking slowly and deliberately as soon as I get off the elevator, not wanting her to somehow hear my footsteps. I stop outside the door and peer in through the window, and my apprehension rushes out in one oversized sigh as I open the door and resume my seat next to the bed once I see that she's sleeping like the beautiful angel that she is. I've learned she's an especially heavy sleeper when she's sick, so there was no risk with my taking her hand in mine and bringing it lightly to my lips, closing my eyes to savor the moment of utter happiness she brought whenever she was around. I reached for the remote beside her bed and dimmed the lights, figuring it'd be easier that way when she woke up, not having the bright fluorescents invading her eyes. I moved my chair a little closer and leaned back, her hand still in mine, and let my eyes close to the thought that I'd do anything to make sure I woke up next to her every morning.

Apparently I was more tired that I thought, I woke up and Sara was gone, a blanket covering my exposed arms. Her bed was made, but her purse was still there, so she hadn't really left yet. I stood up and folded the blanket, laying it on the chair and moving it back to it's place in the corner, trying to leave everything like it was when I got here. I turned around as Sara opened the door and came in, dressed in her grungy clothes, but amazingly breathtaking at the same time.

"Have a good sleep?" She asked, bending down to grab her purse.

"I, uh. Yeah, it was nice, minus the part of sleeping in a chair. How about you?"

"I think our bed would've been much nicer. Come on, let's go home." She laced her arm around my waist and laid her head on my shoulder as we walked to the elevator.

"Hold on, I have to call Lincoln, tell him to bring the car."

"I already did, they should be here any minute."

"Did you forget that I'm the obsessive planner?"

"I was under the impression that you needed a little break," she said with a wink, the heavy doors opening to reveal a much busier hospital.

It was another hot day outside, but it felt nice with the minimal breeze grazing our skin as we sat on a bench out front, waiting to see the Honda pull up.

"Lincoln's going to fill my prescription before he comes. The doctor called it in and let them know it was okay. We can just go straight home."

"I like that. The two of us, together, our home, our life."

"It does have a nice ring to it, doesn't it?"

"Indeed it does," I said, kissing the top of her head, which had found it's way back to my chest after we sat down. It's true, I loved the fact that my life and her life had become united as our life, a life where our problems were dealt with together, a life where I could wake up with her in my arms every morning.

It was great to see Lincoln pull up, his face brighter than it's been since I can remember, to see him truly happy. There were moments when sadness flashed in his eyes, but it never lasted long. I could tell he was still haunted by his past as well, but he did everything he could not to let it screw up his present, and his future.

If only it were that easy.

Everything I see is a reminder of what I did, of what transpired inside those walls and shortly after, even Sara. Just looking in her face and seeing her trust made me remember how I had to purposely use her and hurt her, to break her trust, for Lincoln's own personal gain.

The rest of the day passed somewhat easily, everyone clearly glad that Sara was home, that the baby was fine, that our lives were finally becoming something resembling normal. We'd started eating our dinners as separated households except for two nights a week, when we'd get together and eat as one big family. Tonight was one of the segregated nights and I took it upon myself to make us some hamburger helper while she was in the shower. It wasn't the most romantic entrée, but it didn't stop the meal from being romantic. Dim lights, soft music, the two of us sitting across from each other, our eyes locked together. I didn't want to brag, but I thought the hamburger helper turned out pretty damn well considering my lack of kitchen ability. Every home cooked meal, every night sleeping in a real bed, I cherished all of those things now, they all meant the world to me after having them taken away for quite some time.

After dinner was over, I asked her to take a walk with me. She sounded a little hesitant, but she agreed and changed into a long sleeve stretchy shirt and black leggings, keeping the cool temperature in mind.

We walked down Riverside, up A1A, and to the highest point of the South Causeway bridge. I wrapped my arm around her waist and held her close, leaning back against the metal rail and staring out at the sight before us. The river seemed to stretch forever, reflecting the moonlight, and off in the distance we could see the lights from the beach clubs.

"Oh my gosh…Michael, it's…It's beautiful," she said, her eyes scanning back and forth across the scene.

"I know," I replied with an accomplished kind of smile, happy that she liked it. "It's almost as beautiful as you."

"Are you trying to sweet talk me, Mr. Scofield?" Despite her joking comment, I could tell that my honest compliment touched her somewhere deep.

"Something similar to that," I said, taking my hand out of my pocket, a small box clasped between my fingers as I kneeled on one knee in front of her. "Sara…will you marry me?" I saw the tears flow from her amazing eyes, and I knew her answer was yes.


	9. Again

**Author's Note: **Sorry about the delay, too many issues going on, it's killing my creative spark. Enjoy :)

**Disclaimer: **I do not, nor will I ever, own any of these characters. _Prison Break _and all related elements, characters, and indicia are copyright Paul Scheuring, 20th Century Fox Television, Adelstein-Parouse Productions, and Original Television.

----------

I knew Michael was usually busy taking care of Sara, so I decided it was up to me and LJ to try to make plans for this surf shop, which was supposed to be a dive shop, but it didn't work out like that. We managed to find a place not too far from the house, only a couple miles away, and bought it. Me and LJ were spending most of our time trying to fix it up now, to surprise Michael with. Starting a legitimate business was a hell of a lot harder than I'd imagined, there was so much shit to plan and arrange. We had a sign coming in this afternoon, it wasn't anything fancy, but it had the name of the shop on it, the name LJ had insisted was perfect. Surf's Up sounded pretty corny, but hey, it didn't matter. I'd been trying to think like Michael in terms of setting the place up, and it was coming along pretty good. We had done painting yesterday; shelves, racks, walls, hell, we even got new white linoleum. Today was about stocking things up, getting the merchandise on the shelves and all that junk. We were hoping to get the place opened real soon, let the money start rolling in. It felt good, though, having something to do to keep me busy, to keep my mind off of all the crap that killed my spirit. When Veronica had explained to me how the baby was mine, I was so relieved that I joked with her about molesting a drunk man in his sleep. Of course, she punched me in the arm, and I pretended it hurt, just to humor her.

LJ came in from the back with a box in his arms, humming some Kenny Chesney song that just came on the little radio we had for entertainment. "Where do you want this stuff?"

"What is it?"

"Sex wax."

"Stop calling it that."

"Hey, don't blame me, dad, it's what it's called." He was grinning ridiculously, and I couldn't help but smile back.

"See that sign right there? Says BOARD WAX? I'm pretty sure that'd be a good place to put it."

"Whaddaya know? The old man grew a sense of humor," he said, setting the box down and opening it, stacking the wax on the shelves.

"Oh, and here I was about to give you the rest of the day off. I hope you enjoy the single life, it's gonna be that way for a while now." I winked at his grief and went back to the stock room, grabbing a surfboard and taking it to the front to put in the display window. We already had some "beach clothes" on manikins; shorts, shirts, sandals, hats, and everything. It looked so bogus, but LJ insisted that it was "necessary" to make the shop look "cool". To hell with cool, we'd either have customers or we wouldn't, simple. I liked how the place had two entrances, though. One from the street, and one from the beach. The sign was supposedly gonna be high enough so people on both sides could see it, and that would work pretty nice.

Me and LJ had talked about getting someone else to help run the store, but we ultimately decided to let Michael do any hiring if he chose to. We weren't about to take the heat for employing someone who stole our shit the first week or anything like that. I'd grown pretty used to the fact that I couldn't keep LJ in my sights twenty four hours a day, so I let him have his fun. After everything he went through, how good he got at avoiding those bastards, I knew he'd be able to take care of himself, and it seemed to be beneficial. I'd seen him hanging around with a few people, but there was one girl in particular. Hell, even a blind guy could see that she had an eye for him, an eye that he was shy to reciprocate. Apparently Michael thought my constant nagging wasn't good for LJ's self-esteem, picking on him about girls, but to hell with that. LJ's my son, and he knows I'm just bullshittin' with him, getting him aggravated, embarrassing him. It was a law of life or something, we always screwed with each other, it was what we did to pass the time.

"I'm gonna go hang out with the guys," he said, breaking down the empty surf wax box.

"Wear a raincoat, this family has potent soldiers."

"Dad, you're gross." He tossed the box in the store room and headed out the back entrance, grabbing his hat off of the counter and pulling it down.

Michael had told me about how his night with Sara went, and it started making me think about Veronica, how she'd want a legal marriage, not just a relationship or common law thing. I knew I'd end up having to do the whole romantic proposal thing, but as usual, I wanted to procrastinate for a while, get her all the more anxious so she'll be that much more excited when I finally do it. Well, that's what I told myself, probably subconsciously covering up for something else.

After the sign got there, I called LJ and told him that I was done for the day and to call if he needed a ride home. I could hear that girl giggling in the background and it made me smile, it was good that he made himself a lady friend, someone to alleviate the thoughts of Lisa's death. I scoffed at myself for that, though. It wasn't a death, it was a cold blooded murder because of my father. I'd thought about tracking him down, seeing if he was still alive or if they'd got to him before everything was unraveled, but I couldn't. Some part of me just wouldn't let go of the fact that he fucked me out of a normal child and fucked LJ out of a normal life.

I shook myself out of thought and focused my attention on lighting the grill, getting it prepped for me and Michael to throw the meat on. Veronica and Sara were making all kinds of salads and side dishes, baked potatoes, all that good home cooked stuff. I guess me and LJ were considered to be the garbage disposals. We always made heaps of damn food, but the two of us were always left with eating about eighty percent of it. We should just let a bunch of homeless guys move in and eat the leftovers or something. I laughed to myself and took a drink of my beer, my eyes fixed on the charcoal, watching the dancing flames. My cell started ringing and once again drew me out of though.

"Yeah."

"Dad?"

"Yeah, what's up, LJ?"

"I was just wondering if I could have a friend over for dinner."

"Who?"

"It's uh…" I could tell right then that it was that girl, his nervousness was a dead giveaway.

"Don't hurt yourself, Dr. Phil. She can stay for dinner."

"Thanks, dad!" I could hear the excitement in his voice as he hung up the phone.

"Can who stay for dinner?" I turned around and Veronica kissed me, handing with a cold beer with a questioning look on her face.

"That girl LJ has the hots for."

"Does 'that girl' have a name?"

"Probably." I twisted off the cap and took a long drink, watching the small waves roll in. "Either he doesn't know it, or he's too nervous to get it off his tongue."

"He must get that from Lisa," she said half thoughtfully, half playfully, nudging me in the side.

"Whoa, keep doing that and I'll end up falling over. You know how this uneven ground can be." I held up my beer and smiled. She just laughed and walked away, being replaced by Michael, carrying a tray of steaks and hamburgers. "What about that salmonella poison stuff? Cross contamination and all that?"

"It's not poultry. Go sit down or something."

"Hey now, no need to be rude to the designated drinker."

"How silly of me." He put the meat on the grill and left, returning a minute later, beer in hand. "LJ seems to be doing well."

"Yeah, that girl's coming over for dinner."

"Does she happen to have a name?"

"Jesus, what's up with you people and names? Can't she just be 'that girl'?"

"Hm…well, 'that girl' Burrows sounds nice, I suppose."

"Take it easy with that, there ain't gonna be no triple wedding going on, not while I'm still alive."

"Don't worry, Linc. I'm sure they'll wait until he gets her pregnant before they get married."

"Yeah, he knocks her up and I'm wringing his scrawny little neck."

"How fatherly of you."

"I'm getting good at it. It's instinctual." He rolled his eyes and walked back inside, our joking conversation turning into a more serious string of thoughts in my head. I had to keep telling myself LJ was smarter than that, smart enough to put a helmet on his soldier, but it didn't stop me from worrying. A lot of him had rubbed off on me, though. Now I liked more and more of "his" kind of music, particularly a song he played last week, Qwerty. The name didn't make any sense, but the lyrics were good. Come to think of it, every song from that band seemed to have really topical lyrics, not about shooting people and getting drunk, fucking hookers. The deeper meaning of all of this made me happy, though, I was finally a father AND a friend to my son, someone that I'd hoped he could talk to when he had problems. Maybe our fucked up past just built up this bond we had. Or maybe I'd already drank too much this afternoon. It was a toss-up, one that I didn't care to wager in my mind, nor did I have the time for.

"Hey, dad." I turned around and saw LJ and that girl standing there, both of them looking more nervous than I did when I was walking to the electric chair.

"At ease, you two. I don't bite. Not kids, anyway." I winked at Veronica, she was watching from the back door and shot me a look like she was going to beat me with something. "Plan on introducing your guest sometime tonight? Or do we have to keep calling her 'that girl'?"

"Oh, uh, dad," He glanced around and saw everyone standing, looking, waiting. "Uncle Mike, V, Doctor Sara…this is, uh…" I swear I could see beads of sweat popping on his forehead as he tried to remember her name, or get it off his tongue.

"I'm Kiersten," she said, extending her hand. I shook it, and slapped LJ in the head with my free hand.

"Most guys learn a girl's name BEFORE they bring her home." Kiersten laughed, and I noticed she was left handed.

"Like father, like son," Veronica said, putting plates on the picnic table.

"If I was sober, I might think of a comeback, or at least be offended." Everyone laughed and shook Kiersten's hand.

"Uh, Kier, why don't you help V and Doctor Sara set up the table? I gotta talk to my dad and Uncle Mike." She walked back towards the house and LJ took me and Mike and led us down by the water, a deadly serious look on his face, a look edged with worry.

"What's this about?"

"I, uh, I gotta tell you something. Both of you." Me and Mike exchanged confused glances and looked at LJ.

"Yeah, go for it."

"You have to promise not to get mad." Shit. This wasn't going to be good.

"Okay, spill it."

"Promise me."

"Promise." Our voices were in sync, both of us anxious to hear what LJ had to say, but dreading it at the same time.

"Alright…Dad…Uncle Mike. I…I, uh." He took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. "Kiersten's pregnant." I looked over at Michael, and the last thing I remember was falling backwards, the world quickly dimming to darkness.


	10. Chapter 11

**Authors Notes:** I orignally planned on posting chapter ten, but PBfic is down so I can't get it, and I don't have a backup copy of it, Soo, here's 11.

**Disclaimer: **I own nothing.

-.-.-.-.-

I woke up the next morning, only aware of bits and pieces of the night before, unable to distinguish what was a dream and what was real. My back ached for some reason, though, and I wasn't sure if it was because I "napped" on the coffee table, or because I was in a tragic skydiving accident with a swimming pool full of liquor. I was leaning towards the former. I rolled over, trying to be easy, and draped my arm over V, my face buried in her hair, inhaling her scent. She stirred a little bit, then nestled herself closer to me with a content sigh. Now her curves were pressed against all the right places, and I was forced to lay there and contemplate my next move, a bulge forming in the front of my shorts. I ultimately decided against waking her up for sex for a couple of reasons. She looked so peaceful laying there, and I didn't want to disturb that for either of us. My hangover was screaming in protest, I could feel my heartbeat in my forehead, and sex just seemed like more hassle than it was worth right now. I ran my hand up and down her side, and kissed the top of her head, enjoying the feeling of a familiar body so close to mine. I didn't like showing all this raw emotion, but something about V, about this moment, was preventing me from being cold and shutting her out. Before long, thoughts about marriage had creeped back into my mind, and my brain waged a war against itself. I love her, I always have, no matter what problems we had, but that wasn't the issue. The idea of actually settling down drove me crazy. I know LJ and the new kid need the stability, but such a large percentage of couples drift apart after they get married, and I didn't want that, not for us. Sometimes wanting something just isn't enough, though. She's been my best friend since I was real young, the only one who gave me a chance, who didn't see me and Michael as just a couple of orphans. Early on, before I'd tricked social services, she'd always come see us, no matter what foster home they shipped us off to. She was there to help me when I first started dealing with girls, despite the fact that I always pretended to ignore her advice. Then later on, she'd ended up posting bail for me more times than I could remember without a second thought. When our relationship turned into something more, I screwed it up every time. I loved my mom, she died. I'd loved my dad, he split. I didn't want anything to happen to V, or to Michael, for that matter. It's a big part of why I borrowed that money, to get him away from me, to try and keep him safe. It worked, he actually made something out of himself, been able to live a nice upscale life, even though the emotional scars would never fade. But no matter how hard I pushed, how stupid I got, Veronica just refused to save herself from me. Then I got together with Lisa, and I guess that was finally enough. We just drifted farther apart until it seemed like everything we had was forgotten, I'd got what I thought I wanted. Then she came back in my life, and once again, her own was on the line because of me. But on the other hand, I didn't want LJ or the baby to have to grow up fatherless because I couldn't swallow my pride and let Veronica love me, even though LJ had already dealt with me being gone far too long. All the thoughts that were jammed in my mind didn't do anything productive for my headache, and it was only furthered when V's knee slid over my leg, pressing her closer. Even through the minimal fabric we were wearing, I could feel her heat radiating right where I wanted it, but right where I couldn't go, not now.

A low rumble escaped my throat as I kissed the top of her head again and whispered my love for her against her hair, easing myself out of bed. I stood and watched, making sure she stayed asleep before I proceeded to the guest bathroom. The medicine cabinet was full of things that didn't register in my brain aside from the bottle of ibuprofen. Popping the cap, I shook four into my hand and tossed them in my mouth, throwing my head back and swallowing. The sudden motion made my head hurt more, but it was accompanied by nausea this time, causing me to brace myself against the sink for support. I looked in the mirror and hardly recognized myself, my hair and goatee were longer than they'd been in years, and beads of sweat were appearing out of pores, trailing down my hot skin. I closed my eyes and wished the room to stop spinning, fighting to keep control of my stomach. When I could finally stand upright without support, I made my way to the kitchen and started on blueberry pancakes, after I gulped down a glass of orange juice. The aroma that filled the house was easing my nausea, but the memories attached to the smells was tearing at my heart. I'd broke so many promises to LJ, abandoned him, even, just like Aldo had done to me and Mike, and I resented myself for it. Me and Lisa both knew we couldn't make it work, that we couldn't stay together for him, but it shouldn't have made me think I was off the hook at this parenting thing, free to leave whenever I wanted. A good portion of the time I was gone was spent hiding from loan sharks and the like, but there's so much I could've done, should've done, for LJ. I remembered the days when he used to look up to me, hold me on this pedestal like I was something special, but I ruined all of that a long time ago. I was getting a second chance now, though, and I'd be damned if I was going to let anyone fuck it up. I'd have to talk to Mike, persuade him to knock the hell out of me if I tried to bail on my kid again, make sure I didn't run away from what could be my last chance at happiness, at a normal life.

I walked down the hall and tapped on LJ's door, peering in the crack, noticing that his bed was empty and made. I crossed the floor and checked his bathroom, then practicaly ran back to the kitchen, my eyes darting around everywhere. I grabbed the car keys off the table and rushed out the side door to the carport, still scanning everything, the cool morning air tickling my skin. I stopped dead in my tracks, almost toppling over, when I found him. He was out back in the hammock, Kiersten curled up tightly next to him, her head on his chest, his sleeved arms wrapped protectively around her. I was frozen in place with the goofiest smile spreading across my face, my heart constricting, knowing for sure that my son was happy, that he didn't feel alone. I tore my eyes away from the two of them and went back inside, tossing the keys on the counter and heading back to our bedroom.

"V," I said softly, my hand gently on her arm, shaking her a little. "V, get up, you gotta see this." She rolled over towards me, mumbling some sort of protest before sitting up and rubbing the sleep from her eyes.

"What is it, Linc?" She asked tiredly, yawning a little.

"Just come on," I said, grabbing her hand, pulling her along behind me, which was easier said than done. We stepped out onto the carport and I pointed to the two of them, and wrapped my arm around her shoulder, the goofy smile coming back. I looked over at her and I could see the tears welling up in her eyes, threatening to fall any second, so I ushered her inside to keep from waking them.

"That's so adorable," she cooed quietly, still fighting tears.

"I guess she really means something to him, huh?"

"She has to. LJ doesn't just go liking anyone, he knows what he wants."

"I know. You wanna know what I saw when I looked at them?" I asked, almost hoping she'd say no. She didn't say anything, but her deep eyes urged me to go on. "I uh, I looked at them laying there, and I saw us, years ago, when I finally let myself realize how much I loved you."

"I remember," she said, her voice mixed with emotions, emotions that hadn't yet been given names. I saw hurt flash behind the tears in her eyes, and I closed the distance between us and drew her into my arms, fighting back my own tears.

"I'm sorry, V, for everything. All the shit I put you through, you didn't deserve it," I whispered, trying to keep my chest from heaving so bad. Her arms clenched themselves at my back and her tears flowed, her sobs quiet but filled with pain. I didn't know what else to do so I just stood there and held her, ran my hand through her hair, and made what I'd hoped were soothing sounds. Her body shook tremendously for a while, but it died down along with the frequency of her tears. "I'm sorry," I said again, this time against her neck. She pulled away slightly, leaving half a foot between us and stared at me, blinking away her tears.

"I love you, Lincoln." She smiled at me; a weak, sincere smile that crushed every doubt I'd ever had about us.

"I love you, too, V. I always have."

"I know," she said confidently, and I couldn't help but laugh.

"I've gotta go get LJ up, his pancakes are getting cold. Go on and sit down, I'll be back in a minute." I leaned in and kissed her forehead, my lips lingering on the spot for a minute.

The previous coolness of the morning air was fading into humidity as I made my way across the dew-drenched grass. I licked my lips and let out a shrill whistle, the kind you make when you're trying to get someone's attention. LJ sat up so fast that I thought they were both going to flip right out of the hammock, but his foot hit the ground firmly, keeping them balanced.

"Wake up, you two. Breakfast's ready," I said, walking over and tousling his hair. He looked around, his brain registering the sights around him and he nearly panicked.

"I'm sorry, Dad. Uncle Mike told me to have her home by midnight, and we were just laying here talking, we must've fell asleep."

"Don't worry about it, kiddo. Now get in here and be socialble, your food's getting cold." He beamed a smile at me as I turned and went back inside.

"Are they coming?"

"They're on their way," I said, carrying the platter of pancakes to the table. They joined us a minute later, and LJ's eyes lit up at the sight of the pancakes. I decided to pass on the chance of embarrassing him, knowing that he probably didn't want Kiersten to think he was lame for the meaning that the food held. I knew she wouldn't think it was stupid, but I still resisted, bringing up a different topic. "Don't forget, we're surprising Mike with the surf shop this morning."

"I know, Dad. He's gonna love it."

"He better," I scoffed. "We friggin' worked hard enough on getting it ready."

"Yeah we did," he laughed, and we finished our breakfast.

Time crept by as I waited around for Mike to show up like he usually did.

"LJ, you and Kiersten take the car, go make sure everything's set up good," I said, tossing the keys at him.

"How're you guys getting there?"

"We'll walk, it's not that far. I could use the exercise, anyway."

"Okay, Dad. See you soon," he said with a wave, and they were gone.

"You know, Linc, with how attached the two of them seem, you'll probably have to hire her, too, if you want LJ to actually get any work done. He'd end up wandering off to go see her."

"Yeah he would," I laughed, knowing that I'd have to talk to Mike later about it, even though I doubt he'd mind.

It was almost noon before him and Sara finally showed up, and I was anxious to get going, proud that I'd done something for him for a change.

"Long night?" I asked with a grin once they were inside. His hands almost immediately shoved themselves into his pockets and his eyes fell to the floor for a minute, avoiding the question. "I'm just messing around, chill out. What you guys do is your business. But I got something to show you, come on."

The four of us were outside and I'd started down the driveway before Mike stopped me.

"Where's the car?"

"LJ's got it. We're walking, it's only about a mile away."

Not too long afterwards, I stopped in front of the shop and turned around, grinning like an idiot.

"Why'd we walk to a surf shop?"

"It's not just a surf shop," I said, anticipating his expression. "It's ours. Come on, check it out." I held the door open as everyone filed in, looking around and admiring everything.

"When'd you do this, Linc?" He asked in what seemed like astonishment.

"Me and LJ did it, when we said we were out surfing. What do you think?"

"It's amazing," he said, his eyes still darting around. "I mean, everything's set up and ready?"

"Everything. Legal, too."

"How long has it been open?"

"It hasn't. We just finished the place yesterday. We figured me and you could give surf lessons, LJ could do stock, and Sara, V, and Kiersten could do the books and work the counter. It's even got a couple little bedrooms upstairs, and a kitchen." His mouth started to move like he wanted to say something, but nothing would come out. "Who knows," I said. "Maybe we can get this place going strong, and open up a new one in Panama in a few years." I avoided saying "In five years" and "When you get off probation", not knowing exactly how much Kiersten knew about us, or how much LJ was ready for her to know.

"I don't know how to thank you, Linc. This place is exactly what I envisioned, aside from the fact that it's a surf shop, not a dive shop." Everyone laughed and I threw my arms around him, pulling him into a bear hug.

"I think you've saved my ass enough times, figured you needed something nice."


	11. Chapter 12

**Authors Notes: **Here's chapter 12, enjoy :

**Disclaimer: **I still own nothing.

-.-.-.-.-

The four of us had left LJ and Kiersten in charge of the shop while we went to the doctor's appointment for our sonograms. Veronica was sitting in the back with me, and I could tell she was just as nervous as I was. The boys were listening to the radio, so I could talk out of their earshot if I did it quietly.

"What're you hoping for?" I asked her, leaning closer.

"I'm kind of partial to a girl. What about you?"

"It doesn't matter, as long as it's healthy. I only want to know the sex for the sake of picking out a name. I'm terrible with decisions like that, and I don't want to go through the trouble picking out a boy's and a girl's."

"I know what you mean. I think Lincoln's finally starting to come around. He's been so concerned lately, always asking if I'm okay, if I need anything. I think he's finally growing up, not running from his problems anymore."

"That's good," I said. "I always knew he had it in him, he just had to find it."

Our appointments were delayed, and we didn't end up getting out of the office until four thirty, just in time to have to deal with rush hour traffic. Even knowing it'd take two hours to make it back to the shop, we were too giddy to care. We were both having girls, and they were perfectly healthy so far.

We made it back to the shop and closed up, me and Michael getting in our car and going home, a night of relaxation on the horizon.

"Pick out any names yet?" He joked, knowing how much I drove myself crazy already.

"Nope. I've got three books of names, though, and we're going to go through every one tonight."

"I can't wait." I could tell he meant it, his smile gave it away, and it was enough to make me shut up for the rest of the short drive.

As soon as we were inside, I couldn't stop yawning, it was as if I'd got extremely tired all of a sudden.

"Why don't you go take a nap, or lay down, at least?"

"I don't know, I think I might. How about we get a quick shower first?"

"I'd love to. Go get the water ready, I'll be right in."

It was almost dark outside, and the bathroom was colder than you would've thought. I turned the faucet on and my nipples hardened almost instantly when the cold water splashed on me. I turned it further towards hot, and stripped, leaving my clothes in a heap under the sink. Once the water was warm enough not to give me pneumonia, I stepped in and closed my eyes, letting the stream beat down on my neck. I braced my hand up against the wall and tilted my head down, savoring the liquid massage. I heard Michael get in behind me but I didn't move, deciding instead to wait and see what he'd do. He inched closer and circled his right arm around my waist, his left coming up to rub my shoulder, his lips dancing softly on the back of my neck. A quiet moan escaped my throat when his left hand found my breast, his calloused thumb rubbing my nipple. I could feel him growing harder and pressing against me, and I wanted more. I grabbed his wrist and brought his other hand up, pressing it against my other breast, but he jerked away. Shaking the cobwebs from my head I turned around, blinking away the water from my eyes.

"What's wrong?" I saw him cradling his hand.

"Nothing, it's fine. I'm sorry." I eased closer to him and took his wrist again, this time turning his palm up to me for my eyes to see. His hand was red and swollen, little circular bruises dotting his flesh.

"What happened to you, Michael?"

"Nothing, I broke a glass when I was doing the dishes last night, it's no big deal." He leaned in to kiss me but I pushed away from him.

"No big deal? Have you even seen the infection in your hand? This is a very big deal, but once again, you're too busy trying to be strong for everyone that you're hurting yourself. Why didn't you tell me about this when it happened?"

"I love you, Sara. That's why." His voice was low and ashamed, but I wasn't following him.

"What? How does that justify not telling me? If anything, you've got it backwards."

"You and everyone else, you were having such a good time last night, I didn't want to ruin it." I stared at him, unaware that my mouth was hanging open with shock.

"Why won't you realize that you don't have to be a hero all the time, Michael? Why won't you let me take care of you? We're in this together, forever." I was trying my best to be mad at him, but all I could do was feel sorry that he felt like he had to keep things from me. "I just don't know how to get through to you," I said, getting out of the shower and wrapping a towel around myself. The air in our bedroom was making me shiver, so I dried as fast and thoroughly as I could, dressing myself in a pair of green sweats and clean socks, and climbed under the covers. I laid there and felt lost, and the silent tears that flowed down my face only made me feel stupider for the whole thing, but I couldn't stop. Michael crawled in behind me a minute later and wrapped his arms around me, apologized against my neck, and it only turned my silent tears into vicious sobs. The only man I've ever actually loved, and here I was acting like a lunatic, wanting to be angry, wanting to apologize, wanting to hit him, wanting to make love. I didn't know which one I wanted more, so I laid there and I cried, trying to forget all the thoughts in my mind and just cry. He held me tighter and kept whispering his apologies, and how much he loved me, and it just sent my emotional roller coaster into overdrive. I wanted to scream at him, tell him to shut up, beg him to never let go, but I didn't. I cried.

I cried for what seemed like hours until I woke up, still in his arms, my cheeks still burning, my face still sticky from the tears. From the amount of silver light shining in the room, I'd guess it was a full moon, or somewhere close to it. I laid there and stared out the window, not wanting to move, not wanting to cry anymore. I could feel Michael's steady breath hot against the back of my neck, and I realized that I was burning up. I eased his arm from around me and stood up, stripping the sweats off of my slick body and carefully pulling the blanket off the bed. The dresser creaked when I opened the top drawer, but Michael didn't move a muscle, thankfully. I slid on a pair of underwear and made my way back to Michael's side, facing him this time, and kissed him. I let my lips linger where they were, barely touching his, and closed my eyes, trying to go back to sleep. My mind wouldn't let me, though, and baby names flooded my thoughts again. I decided to go along with it instead of fight it, and laid there for a good hour and a half. It finally hit me, and it's the name my heart was set on now. Alexis Renee Scofield. I repeated it over and over in my head and rolled to the side, grabbing a pencil and scribbling it down on a piece of paper. I was so excited that I accidently put two N's in Renee and had to erase it, a case of the giggles building up inside of me. I looked over at the clock and decided Michael wouldn't mind if I woke him up, he still had plenty of time to sleep. I snuggled right up next to him and whispered his name right onto his own lips. His eyes snapped open and I saw fear, then it faded into confusion.

"What's going on?"

"The name, I've got it!" I was still whispering, but it was like an excited shout.

"Oh yeah?"

"Mhm."

"And what is it?"

"Well, if you want it, I was thinking Alexis Renee Scofield."

"It's perfect," he said, leaning forward and kissing me. I could taste the passion and the love on his mouth, and his eyes told me he'd meant what he said about it being perfect.

"I love you, Michael," I said with a smile, still in mid-kiss.

"Oh, but I love you more. And that's a fact of life."

"Hardly."

"You want proof now?" He scooped his arm under me and rolled, his face hovering less than an inch above me, his eyes locked on mine.

"If this is what proof is like, I want alot of it," I said in a playfully quiet tone. He dipped his head and captured my mouth again, his tongue poking for access, then dancing across the tip of mine. My body heaved under him, and it was all I could do to keep myself from grinding my hips against his thickening bulge, even though I could imagine that it was going to happen anyway. He broke the kiss and brushed a couple of loose strands of hair out of my face.

"You mean the world to me, Sara. You and Alexis both. I'm never going to let either of you down again, I promise." His whisper was hot and meaningful against my skin as he spoke, and then caressed my cheek, his lips sucking at my neck. I tilted my head to give him a better angle, an angle that he found in no time, causing my breath to hitch in my throat. I rarely ever got to reciprocate the pleasure he brought me. He'd spend so much time on me, driving me insane, then we'd actually make love and I'd be so exhausted that I'd fall asleep on his chest before I could recuperate. He never said a word about it, though; he kept on giving, driving me over the edge time and time again with his mouth and hands, and I had a feeling that tonight wasn't going to be any different.

He kissed his way to my breasts and teased my peaks, almost making me lose it right there. He stopped at the last second and looked up at me, giving me a rest before he trailed his way down my body, below my navel. He had my panties stripped and to the side in a matter of seconds, but this time I did lose it, an earthquake rattling itself through my body as I screamed his name against the pillow I'd bit down on. My breath was coming short and ragged, my toes aching from curling up so tight, but Michael didn't want me to come down too much. He was easing himself inside of me before I knew it and he paused when he'd reached as deep as he could. I ran my hands up and down his arms, my eyes never leaving his and I started to rock my hips towards him. He fell into perfect rhythm with me, then our pace quickened, but everything stayed gentle. He brought me to the edge again and I screamed, this time without a pillow as I tightened around him, urging him to come with me. He collapsed next to me and caressed my heaving stomach, our breaths slowly returning to normal as we drifted back to sleep.


	12. Chapter 13

**Authors Notes: **Here it is, the end of it! Thanks for everything, be sure to check out the final installment in this "Unplanned" series called Rough Patches.

**Disclaimer: **Once again, I own nothing.

-.-.-.-.-

I could feel my palms continue to sweat as I stood next to the minister, even though it was sunset and sixty five degrees. I shoved my hands in my pockets, wiping them off on the tissues I'd placed in there and glanced to my right at Lincoln, apparently just as anxious as I was, his fingers fidgeting with the hem of his jacket. It was a pretty private occasion, LJ being the universal best man slash ring bearer, and Kiersten being the universal bridesmaid. Aside from them, it was just us four, and that was fine. There was a time when we thought Sucre and Maricruz would be able to join us, but in the end it was too risky for them to come here without a crowd to blend in with. It was an elaborate ceremony, though, the whole nine yards. Music started echoing from the organ, and Veronica was walking down the aisle between the chairs we'd set up. For the first time in God knows how long, I was aware of how much she'd grown up since we were kids. I'd always thought she was pretty, sure, but I'd never really been attracted to her aside from the little crush I had when I first met her. It was just a phase, though, and out of everyone I knew, I was glad she was the one that made my brother happy. I could remember when we were growing up, and every night that Lincoln wasn't running the streets, he was laying at the foot of my bed, talking about how great Veronica was and swearing me to secrecy. He'd go on about her for hours until I'd fall asleep, and when I woke up, he was usually still laying there talking about her. Then whenever they had a fight or he was being dumb, he'd talk about how all the things he said was a lie, and that he wouldn't care if he never saw her again. We both knew it was a lie, but Lincoln hated conflict between them, and he'd do anything to try and brush it off, act like nothing happened. I think it's part of the reason she left, because he just wasn't ready for a relationship. He had a wild, free spirit, one that usually got him in trouble, and she was more grounded, had her priorities in order. She keeps him in line, he keeps things interesting, I suppose it's one of those "How'd that happen?" relationships.

When Veronica got up there with us it was Sara's turn and my heart stopped when I saw her. Her white dress came down to her ankles, the wind blowing her hair to the side, and I don't know how, but she was walking perfectly through beach sand in heels. Her steps were slow and deliberate, her eyes never leaving mine, our smiles being reflections of our happiness. My chest started constricting, my lungs were on fire, and then I remembered to breathe and everything was okay.

"May I see the rings?" My eyes stayed locked on Sara's, her gaze showing nothing but love. "May I have the rings?" He repeated, a little louder. LJ was standing there smiling at everyone, unaware of the minister's first attempt.

"Oh, uh, sorry," he said sheepishly, handing the rings over.

"Men, if you will, take these rings and put them on your lady's finger. Do you, Michael Scofield and Lincoln Burrows, take these women, Sara Tancredi and Veronica Donovan to be your lawfully wedded wives, to love and to cherish, honor and obey, in sickness and in health, as long as you both shall live?"

My "I do" was a little delayed, I was concentrating more on Sara than I was on the minister.

"And do you, Sara Tancredi and Veronica Donovan, take these men, Michael Scofield and Lincoln Burrows, to be your lawfully wedded husbands, to love and to cherish, honor and obey, in sickness and in health, as long as you both shall live?"

Their "I do's" were in sync, both of them trying to hold back the tears as long as they could.

"Then by the power invested in me by the state of Florida, I now pronounce you husbands and wives. Please, you may kiss your bride."

I cupped Sara's cheek in my hand and leaned in, my lips grazing across hers, my tongue trying to refrain from begging for entry. LJ and Kiersten started cheering and yelling and whistling like they were at a football game, and our kiss turned into hysterical laughter, smiles plastered on our faces again.

"I love you, Sara," I whispered against her neck, my arms wrapped tightly around her. The tears started flowing, but she didn't even try to hide it. I could feel her smile against my cheek, her happiness trailing down her face.

"I love you, too, Michael." Our embrace was strong but gentle, neither of us daring to let go. "Michael..."

"Hm?"

"Michael, my water just broke," her voice was almost shaking with fear, but it didn't even compare to the fright I was feeling inside.

"Are, are you sure?" I stammered.

"I'm positive." She let out a nervous laugh, and I became aware that everyone was staring at us.

"Her uh, her water broke," I announced proudly, my mind still racing. Lincoln came over and slapped me on the back with a laugh.

"You're crazy, Mike. Now get outta here, you got a hospital to go to."

"Glad you remembered, I was standing her with a blank canvas. Sara, I'll be right back, I'm going to run to the house and get your overnight bag and the car, then I'll be back." I turned to dash away, but she stopped me.

"Michael, I can walk up to the house. You're not supposed to rush around, I'll just be sitting at the hospital waiting. Take your time. I'll meet you up there."

"Oh, uh, right. I love you," I said over my shoulder, rushing off to the last thing I heard.

"Come on, sweetie, let's go have your baby." I shook my head as I jogged, Veronica said some of the oddest things.

We made it to the hospital and sure enough, they told her to just lay there and wait, and the anticipation was making me crazy. I'd gnawed off my fingernails up to the cuticles, folding every piece of paper I could find into a crane, flipped around every television channel nine hundred times. I caught one news story that confused me beyond belief. The anchor said a man had got shot in the face and suffered minor injuries. I wasn't sure, but where I come from, getting shot in the face leads to some extensive injuries. I flipped it off and tried to will my foot to stop shaking unsucessfully, then Sara told me to go get something to eat.

"Great," I thought as I rode the empty elevator. "Snack machine dinner." I would've went to the cafeteria but unfortunately, things from the snack machine tasted better, so I settled on an overpriced bag of Fritos. I'd just opened the bag when the automatic doors to the lobby slid open, Veronica holding her stomach, Lincoln walking behind her, his hand on the small of her back. The Fritos went straight in the wastebasket as I rushed over, my brother's face looking beyond panicked.

"What are you doing here?" I asked with concern.

"We're not here for the exquisite room service," he replied, continuing his way to the receptionist's desk. "Yeah, my wife's in, and the baby, get her a wheelchair, damn it."

"Calm down, Linc, she'll be fine. If she's actually in labor, two weeks premature isn't much to worry about."

"Do we have to do everything together? We get married at the same time, the girls go into labor the same night, I mean, fucking Christ, Mike."

"I bet this is something that doesn't happen too often."

"Yeah, no shit," he said with a sigh, hiking Veronica's bag further up on his shoulder and following her and the nurse to the elevator. "You comin'?"

"I'll take the stairs, I could use the exercise. Ma'am, what floor?"

"Three."

"Thank you," I said, taking off towards the stairwell. Climbing three flights was alot more exhausting than I remembered, and I was glad to finally reach the room, which was ironically the same one Sara was in. I was getting rather tired of all of this, the two of them doing everything in sync, it was growing overwhelming, but I shrugged it off and tried to ignore the excited convesation going on between the two girls.

It was four in the morning before Sara was taken to the delivery room and I joked with Lincoln as we were leaving. "See you two within the hour," I said, insinuating that Veronica would be right behind Sara. I didn't mean it, but sure enough, there she was. Before sunrise we had two beautiful, healthy baby girls in this world, Alexis Renee and Tara Irene, and we were finally free and clear.


End file.
